P.M. Executive Briefing - Dec. 26
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Chicago Snow Cleanup Trucks Menaced by Cars
Even trucks involved in the Chicago-area cleanup of highways plagued with ice and snow are not safe from other drivers.The Illinois Department of Transportation pleaded with motorists to drive safely over the holiday weekend, noting that 12 of the department's trucks had been struck by motorists as the trucks tried to clear away accumulated winter storm leftovers.
Motorists failed to heed signs near cleanup areas, IDOT said. Shoulders of three expressways had become clogged with snow and ice that had been plowed from the main roadways.
FedEx Fled Memphis Weather Early
The freezing rain that walloped Memphis, Tenn., spurred air delivery giant FedEx Corp. (FDX) to send its planes out earlier than usual early Tuesday morning from its national air hub there, company spokeswoman Sandra Munoz told Transport Topics.Unlike passenger airlines, FedEx does not fly in the middle of the day, she noted, but has its planes cycle into and out of the airport overnight.
Besides using the runways, FedEx cargo flights depend on closely timed hookups with regional trucks bringing freight to the airplanes and taking loads from the airport back out for distribution. And roads in the Memphis area were slippery, Munoz said.
Also on Tuesday, Northwest Airlines (NWAC) cancelled about 50 flights operating to or from Memphis, and said on the basis on a forecast that it would be able to operate no more than half its schedule through the end of the day. Nancy Nickell, Transport Topics
3Q Shows Trucking Co. Shakeout
Years of pay raises compounded by rising fuel prices could run a record number of trucking companies off the road, an A.G Edwards & Sons analyst told the Wall Street Journal electronic edition.Donald Broughton found that a total of 1,320 operators having six or more trucks failed in the third quarter, WSJ.com reported, as relayed by Bloomberg News.
Many failed companies were truckload carriers, the report found.
The less-than-truckload segment underwent consolidation, the story added. Transport Topics
Ice Wallops South
Texas authorities said they could not salt the roads fast enough during Tuesday's winter storm, the Associated Press reported.An Arkansas official compared that state's roads to a skating rink, according to AP.
Oklahoma highways were reportedly slick, and power failures were reported in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.
American Airlines cancelled nearly 200 flights at Dallas-Fort Worth because of bad weather elsewhere. Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- FedEx Gets Extra AF Corp. Stock
- Iran Wants OPEC to Cut 1 Million Barrels of Oil Per Day
- Weather Keeps Pressure on Trucking
- Retailers Hoping for Post-Holiday Turnaround
- Asche Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
- Pacer Completes Rail Van Buy, Files for IPO
- 2001 Heavy Truck Output Could Fall 15-20%
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