P.M. Executive Briefing - Dec. 23
Due to the Christmas holiday, the A.M. and P.M. Executive Briefings will not run tomorrow. They will resume on Monday. Have a Merry Christmas!
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Fear of Terrorism Means Delays at Canadian Border
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Co., truckers are experiencing 4-mile backups at the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Lacolle, Quebec, due to tightened border security. Canadian officials may or may not be responding to U.S. warnings of terrorism related to the millennium, but security checks are certainly being stepped up and creating delays.
Truck Doubles as Mobile Billboard
A truck is on the road in western Pennsylvania decorated with a photo of children in holiday garb with the message "Protect our children, don't drink and drive." PJAX Trucking founder Donald Hammel is the man behind the message and the grandfather of the 10 children in the picture. North Hills News Record (Warrendale, Pa.) Online (12/23/99)Wetlands Polluter Sentenced
Southern California oil hauler Richard Ogle Sr. has been sentenced to 45 days in jail, a $20,000 fine, and 200 hours' community service for dumping used oil in a storm drain. The oil ended up in the Bolsa Chica preserve, Southern California's biggest remaining wetlands, where over 50 birds died in less than a week's time.Ogle, of Dick's Vacuum Truck Service in Santa Ana, had been hired by the city of Garden Grove to take waste and debris from a city maintenance yard. He put 200 gallons of waste oil into the storm drain at the yard rather than sucking it up and hauling it to a facility licensed to handle waste oil.
The 45-day jail sentence will be served in home detention. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to discharging a pollutant into navigable waters, a felony; killing a migratory bird; killing a protected brown pelican; and failing to oversee proper storage of hazardous waste. One of the charges was related to conditions at the company rather than the oil dumping. He also gave up his hazardous waste handling license, in a deal with California environmental regulators. Los Angeles Times (12/23/99) P. 1B; Gold, Scott
N.C. Near Top in Fatalities Involving Trucks
A study conducted by Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways revealed that North Carolina came in fourth among states in the number of truck-crash fatalities in 1998. In addition, the state came in fourth in the number of job-related fatalities among truckers and seventh in the number of children who died in truck crashes. The 243 truck-crash deaths is a 5.2% higher than the 1997 figure.According to North Carolina Trucking Association traffic and business manager Wayne Riddle, the state's truck safety will probably improve thanks to the federal Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act and state legislation creating truck safety-violation fines and higher points for truckers breaking traffic rules. Raleigh News & Observer Online (12/23/99); Hyman, Vicki
Business Up for Fleets, Dealers, Distributors
The monthly survey by MacKay & Co. reveals a 7.4% year-over increase in fleets' average revenue miles for November and a 1% increase from October. According to MacKay researchers, a 0.1% year-over-year rise in parts sales for dealers is due to a more intense focus on part sales and added locations and parts personnel.Increased buying of winter items, contractors working long seasons, and the strength of the Texan and western Canadian oil fields are cited to explain the 14.5% year-over-year rise in parts sales for independent distributors.
Labor sales at independent distributors with service businesses saw a larger increase than dealer service labor sales because fleets are outsourcing more service work and looking for faster service, said MacKay. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (12/23/99); Smith, Pat
Airlines, Deliverers Show Pinch of High Oil Prices
The Federal Reserve is paying close attention to how the past year's meteoric rise in fuel prices is putting pressure on transportation companies to increase their prices. It is generally predicted that the higher fuel costs will inevitably trickle down to consumers.Despite the price spike in November there was only a 0.1% year-over-year rise in the Consumer Price Index for that month, in part because of holiday discounting, said Bureau of Labor Statistics economist Pat Jackman. He said the effect of the Nov. 22 jump in NYMEX oil prices will probably be felt in the CPI for December, "other things being equal." Competition and rising interest rates have given producers and retailers a hard time turning the fuel hikes over to consumers.
The Federal Open Market Committee decided Tuesday to hold interest rates steady but expressed concern regarding potential "inflationary imbalances" and noted a planned February policy reassessment intended to head off possible inflation. While FDX is eyeing a fuel surcharge, United Parcel Service will not. Reuters (12/21/99); Finley, Ross
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