P.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 18
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GM Calls For 3-Week Production Halt At Wisconsin Medium Truck Plant
General Motors Corp. said it will idle 900 workers at its Janesville, Wis. plant for three weeks due to a decline in the medium truck market, Bloomberg reported Friday.Production will be halted until Sept. 11, and then will halt again for another three weeks in October, the article said. A company spokesman told Bloomberg the idle periods were an attempt to balance inventories, as too many trucks are being produced and waiting to be sold.
The demand for commercial vehicles in North America continues to decrease. Volvo Trucks reported earlier Friday it has seen a 30% decrease in first-half sales in that market, and other truck makers such as Freightliner and Navistar have announced layoffs as recently as this week due to the market slump. Transport Topics
Chancellor Corp. Acquires Sapp Bros. Leasing
Transportation trading company Chancellor Corp. Friday announced it will purchase 100% of the common stock of Sapp Bros. Leasing Inc.Sapp is a 28-year-old finance company specializing in over-the-road tractor-trailers for owner-operators nationwide, and will now operate as Chancellor Financial. Sapp has a current asset-based aged portfolio of approximately $20 million and has two sales centers in Indianapolis, Ind., and Omaha, Neb. Transport Topics
Rail Intermodal Shipments Still Rising, Report Says
The most recent report from the Association of American Railroads indicates that rail intermodal shipments which travel part of their journeys on trucks increased for a fifth consecutive week.Intermodal traffic rose 3.7% to 184,738 trailers and containers, according to the AAR report. Railroads reporting to AAR account for 92% of the country's carload freight and 98% of rail intermodal volume, AAR said. Transport Topics
FleetPride Opens New Branches In New York and Texas
Aftermarket truck-parts distributor FleetPride will open two new locations, in Marcy, N.Y., and Kilgore, Texas, the company announced Friday.The Marcy branch, near Utica, N.Y., is a brand-new operation in a renovated building, while the Kilgore branch was added through FleetPride's acquisition of Air Brake and Truck Parts Inc., the company said.
Both new locations will carry FleetPride-branded heavy-duty truck parts and other name brands. Transport Topics
Heating Oil Prices Reach Seven-Month High
Heating oil prices continued to rise Friday, reaching a seven-month high, with current U.S. inventories down 38% from a year ago and winter demand on the horizon.Bloomberg reported that the increase comes among concerns that refiners will not be able to catch up with the winter demand, as they focus now on gasoline production for the summer driving season. If that should happen, the impact will be felt by the trucking industry via high diesel prices. Diesel and heating oil are practically identical.
The cost for heating oil has risen to 90.50 cents a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest since Jan. 31. Transport Topics
Mucho.com Chooses freightquote.com For Logistics Service
Internet-based freight and logistics network freightquote.com Friday announced it will partner with online business center Mucho.com.Mucho.com members will now be able to use freightquote.com's logistics and fulfillment services for delivery of supplies and services purchased through Mucho.com. Members will be provided access to freightquote.com services such as real-time quotes from freight carriers, scheduling, tracking, invoicing and reporting.
Freightquote.com is linked to more than 225,000 tractors and trailers, through regional and national carriers in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
