P.M. Executive Briefing - Aug. 3
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Reports Have Paccar And Navistar Discussing Deal
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According to Stark, the Bellevue, Wash. company that manufactures Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks in the United States is interested only in Navistar's commercial truck and bus assets - not the diesel engine operation that was organized as a separate company July 24.
John Stark, publisher of the online newsletter, said Navistar is talking to other companies as well, citing Volkswagen, and Fiat, but, he said, "the Paccar talks are the most serious."
At Navistar, Roy Wiley, manager of corporate communications, cited company's policy forbidding comment on speculation.
Stark has been reporting Paccar-Navistar discussions since late June. At that time Stark's reported Freightliner was in acquisition discussions with Western Star Truck Holdings - a deal that was not confirmed until late July. Stark said no "due diligence" has taken place in the Navistar-Paccar discussions and, thus, it may not come to light until the fourth quarter. Dan Lang, Transport Topics
Factory Orders Rose in June
As expected, new orders coming into U.S. factories rose 5.5% in June, the strongest reading since July 1991, the Commerce Department said. That report was foreshadowed by earlier durable goods figures.The gain was powered by orders for transportation equipment, mostly airplanes, but it suggests some strength still ahead for truck shipments to and from some parts of the factory sector, even though the housing sector is weakening and in turn curbing related types of factory orders. Transport Topics
Patriot Transportation Holdings Reports Lower Financial Results For Quarter
Patriot Transportation Holdings, Inc., which operates Florida Rock & Tank Lines, Inc.; SunBelt Transport, Inc., and Patriot Transportation, Inc., reported Thursday a decrease in net income for its fiscal third quarter.Net income fell to $865,000, or 26 cents per diluted share. The company said in the report this was due to a "challenging transportation environment," which included rising fuel costs and driver shortages. Patriot said it is taking "aggressive steps" to counteract these problems. Transport Topics
Trimac Corp. Renews Normal Course Issuer Bid
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The company's board of directors authorized the purchase of up to 1,365,000 of its common shares, 5% of its currently outstanding shares.
Under its previous normal course issuer bid, Trimac purchased 47,100 common shares at an average price of $6.70 per share, the company said. Transport Topics
Dina Reshuffles Management Amid Financial Woes
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In an action announced Wednesday, Jose Ignacio Moreno Oliveros has left his post as Chief Financial Officer to spearhead the company's efforts to restructure the company and make the interest payment before the grace period expires Aug.14.
Resigning were the director of sales and operations, the director of purchasing and engineering and the director the autoparts business.
Dina's shares have fallen 72% so far this year, and the company recently reported a 55% second-quarter sales drop to 276 million pesos ($28.09 million U.S.). Dan Lang, Transport Topics
Proteus Links with pFreight For New Wireless Development
Internet developing and consulting firm Proteus announced Thursday the launch of a new wireless offering through pFreight.com, a Web site that provides business tools for the trucking industry.Using commercial wireless Web phones, drivers and fleet owners can track and update load status through Proteus' new system. The new service, as well as pFreight's other Web-based trucking tools, are available at www.pfreight.com. Transport Topics
DaimlerChrysler Will Sell Off Train Making Unit, German Paper Reports
Passenger rail car maker Bombardier Inc. will announce Friday its purchase of DaimlerChrysler's train making division, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported.DaimlerChrysler is selling off the train making division, which was not bringing in much profit, to concentrate on the automotive end of business, the report said. Terms of the purchase will be disclosed Friday.
Such a deal could free-up cash as DaimlerChrysler moves forward on its acquisition of Detroit Diesel for $423 million. DaimlerChrysler subsidiary Freightliner also recently announced it will acquire heavy truck maker Western Star for $670 million (Canadian). Transport Topics
Shovel Punctures Fuel Tank, Diesel Spills, Traffic Slows
A shovel left in the road by construction workers led to a slick diesel spill on Interstate 10 Wednesday afternoon near Metairie, La., the Times-Picayune (New Orleans) reported.The driver of a Haynes Motor Lines truck accidentally went over the shovel in the road, which punctured the truck's fuel tank under the cab. Once the driver of the truck noticed the fuel leak, he pulled over. However, cars had already begun driving through the diesel, spreading it 150-200 yards around and making the road slick, the article said.
State police closed three lanes of the interstate until sand could be brought out to absorb the spilled fuel, according to the report. Transport Topics
Families Of Mother, Toddler Settle With Trucking Company
The families of 19-year-old Jade Gilstrap and her son 2-year-old son Trent Nolan have settled lawsuits with trucking company SMG Inc. over the 1999 accident that killed Gilstrap, Trent and SMG's driver, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Thursday.Gilstrap and Trent were killed when their car crashed head-on into a truck driven by Daniel O'Brien, who died six days later. His employer said he had suffered a massive stroke moments before the accident occurred, according to the Times.
Gilstrap's mother and Trent's father filed separate lawsuits claiming O'Brien negligently operated or maintained the vehicle, also naming SMG liable as O'Brien's employer. Terms of the settlement were not released, according to the report, each family would receive an estimated $60,000.
Both sides agreed to dismiss the case without prejudice; therefore it cannot be filed again, the article added. Transport Topics
Sales, Net Income Up for XATA Corp. in Third Quarter
XATA Corp., providers of on-board technology to the transportation industry, reported increases in net income and sales for its fiscal third quarter Thursday.Net income for the quarter was $302,056 or 6 cents per diluted share, while net sales were reported at $3,255,099 for the quarter.
The successful quarter was due in part to decisions by Allegiance Healthcare, Gourmet Award Foods, Lamb Weston and South East Milk to begin using XATA's Onboard Computer System, the company said. Transport Topics
