P.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 25
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Shiloh Net Down in Q3, Warns Of Possible Q4 Drop on Trucking Softness
Shiloh Industries, which manufactures stamped components and modular systems for trucking and other industries, announced a decrease in net income for its third quarter ending July 30.Like many other truck-related manufacturers, Shiloh said the decrease was due in part to a slumping North American truck market. Net income was $3.5 million or 25 cents per share, a drop of 16%.
The company also said it expects fourth-quarter earnings to also decrease from the related quarter of 1999, due to a charge related to the tool and die operations and a continuation of the same negative factors hurting third-quarter results. Transport Topics
Cysive Stock Tumbles After Terminating Contract With CorPay
E-commerce developer Cysive saw its shares drop 42% Thursday after it terminated its contract with transportation and freight-processing service provider CorPay Solutions, which had been its largest customer, the Washington Post reported Friday.Shares dropped almost $6 to close at 8.12½ on the Nasdaq exchange, the article said.
CorPay had signed on with Cysive in October 1999 and through June had paid the company approximately $4.5 million, according to the article. The two companies disagreed in July over the progress of the CorPay project, and the contract was terminated.
The contract represented 15% of Cysive's revenue, a Legg Mason Wood Walker analyst told the Post. Cysive will lose an expected total of $5 million or 12 cents per diluted share this quarter, a company official said in the article. Wall Street analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial are now projecting Cysive will lose 6 cents per share in the third quarter, as opposed to early estimates of a 6-cent-per-share profit, the article said. Transport Topics
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After 911 and 411, Now Comes 511 Traffic Info Hotline
Drivers stuck in traffic will soon be able to dial 511 on their cell phones and find out what is going on on the road ahead of them, said a Hartford Courant report carried by the Associated Press.A new nationwide system will allow drivers to get local traffic information by dialing 511, instead of waiting for the periodic radio traffic report, the story said. Information ranging from road conditions to accidents will be updated by police and commuters will be able to specify what route information they want.
While the Federal Communications Commission has set aside the three digits for this purpose, drivers should not rely on it yet as local hotline support systems are not established yet. And they shouldn't expect it soon, since 911 took several decades to reach the entire nation, the story said. Transport Topics
Clayton County, GA. Votes Six-Month Moratorium on Truck Terminals
The Clayton County (Ga.) Commission voted unanimously Thursday for a six-month moratorium on new truck terminals so it can study the impact of trucking on the Interstate 675 corridor in that county just southeast of Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.The panel also voted against rezoning for a proposed 80-acre travel plaza, that would be built in the northeastern section of Clayton County at the intersection of Interstate 675 and Ellenwood Road/Forest Parkway.
The rejected rezoning means the proposed restaurants and offices cannot be part of the complex, the article said. Two hotels, fueling stations and warehousing are also part of the proposed plaza. Transport Topics
Canada's CRASH Opposes Longer Trucks in Alberta
Canadians for Responsible and Safe Highways (CRASH) responded to a Thursday Edmonton Sun article by stating that the trucking industry should adopt the National Safety Code rather than put longer trucks on the road, the Canadian News Wire reports.The Sun article had noted that an Alberta test project will allow double trailers – which total maximum of 31 meters, as opposed to the current 25 meters.
A CRASH executive said Alberta had the worst rating in Canada in a 1999 truck safety sur-vey due to because of high death rates in truck crashes and for its lax trucking regulations, the article said. He added that the longer trailers would not result in fewer trucks, as had been claimed in the Sun article. Transport Topics
American Freightways Will Spend Another $19 Million On Equipment, $100 Million Total This Year
Less-than-truckload carrier American Freightways will spend $19 million on new equipment this fall, raising its total to $100 million for the year, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Friday.The company's customer base has grown 20% and the carrier expanded into several states this year, including a recent opening of five centers in Arizona, the article said.
AF's equipment purchases include 1,160 tractors, 395 forklifts and 1,530 trailers, according to the Democrat-Gazette. Transport Topics
Air Canada’s Pilots Agree to More Talks
The risk of a strike by pilots of Canada’s largest freight and passenger air carrier, Air Canada, receded again today as the pilots union agreed to resume negotiations, a Toronto Star online news report said.An Air Canada strike could disrupt large amounts of air freight handled by truck operators at various U.S. and Canadian airports, and would put much of the displaced air shipments onto cross-border trucking.
A federally appointed mediator earlier this week proposed terms in between those sought by the union and airline, and the Star report noted that pilots have now said that mediator's report is a good starting point for new talks. The talks had broken off a week ago, raising the risk of a strike around Labor Day. Transport Topics
Logistics Management & Distribution Report Honors Quest For Quality Award Winners
Transportation trade journal Logistics Management & Distribution Report honors several transportation firms in its 2000 Quest for Quality awards, highlighted in its August issue.More than 3,000 readers of the magazine filled out questionnaires, ranking the carriers they used based on five criteria: on-time performance, value, information technology, customer service and equipment and operations. Third-party logistics providers were evaluated by carrier selection and negotiation, order fulfillment, transportation/distribution, in-ventory management and logistics information systems.
The highest-scoring companies in each category were as follows:
Dry-Freight Carriers: Schneider National
b>Household-Goods Carriers: Allied Van Lines
b>High-Value Goods Carriers: United Van Lines
b>Industrial and Heavy-Haul Carrier: Schneider National
b>Bulk Motor Carriers: Schneider National Bulk Carriers
National LTL Carriers: Roadway Express
b>Multiregional & Interregional LTL Carriers: American Freightways
b>Surface Package Carriers: United Parcel Service
b>Western Regional LTL Carriers: Lynden Transport
b>Northeast Regional LTL Carriers: Pitt Ohio Express
b>South/South Central Regional LTL Carriers: Southeastern Freight Lines
b>Midwest/North Central Regional LTL Carriers: USF Holland
Railroads (Standard Rail Service): Wisconsin Central
b>Intermodal Marketing Companies: Hub Group
b>Intermodal Service Provider: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF)
b>International Ocean Carriers: Australia/New Zealand Direct Line (ANZDL)
Air-Express Carriers: FedEx
b>Airlines: Alaska Airlines
b>Freight Forwarders: Expeditors International
b>Third-Party Logistics Providers: FedEx Global Logistics
i>Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- Fuel Costs, Internet Unit Lead to Quarterly Loss for Celadon Group
- Averitt Express Opens New Center in Southern Texas
- Ontario Smog Patrol Watches Roads for Polluters
- Rail Intermodal Shipments Continue to Rise, Report Says
- Covenant to Update Con-Way Trucks With Freightliners
- Bridgestone's Woes Continue, Suffer 49% First-Half Hit
- Tires To Roll Off New E-Marketplace
- Southeastern Freight Lines Adds New Invoice Options
