P.M. Executive Briefing - Dec. 8
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ArvinMeritor to Close Plant, Layoff Workers
ArvinMeritor (ARM), maker of heavy truck axles and other components, said this week that it will shut down its Fairfield, Iowa plant late 2001 and lay off 265 workers, Bloomberg reported.The wire service wrote that the decision came due to a slowing truck market.
The company currently operates 150 plants worldwide and employs 36,000. The article said some workers from the Fairfield plant might get job offers at one of these other plants. Transport Topics
Landstar to Buy Back More Shares
Transportation company Landstar System Inc. (LSTR) said this week that it plans to buy back 500,000 of its common stock, because it believes the stock is undervalued in the market.Currently, 8.4 million of its shares are outstanding. In September, the Jacksonville company bought back 1 million of its shares. Transport Topics
Florida Supreme Court Rules for Gore
Florida's Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision Friday and ruled for Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic nominee for president, CBS news reported. The ruling gives Gore the recounting of the ballots he requested and possibly the votes to win the presidency.Several possibilities remain before the United States gets a president-elect, the network said. Texas Gov. George W. Bush might appeal the Florida's top court ruling to the U.S. Supreme court. Additionally, the GOP-controlled Florida state legislature plans to meet next week to discuss selecting its own electors to vote in the electoral college Dec. 18. Transport Topics
Bush Cabinet Names Floated
If Texas Gov. George W. Bush is named the winner of the presidential election, the job of transportation secretary could go to Spencer Abraham, the Republican senator from Michigan who was defeated for re-election, according to an Associated Press story on potential Bush cabinet picks. Meanwhile, Friday's New York Times said former maritime administrator Elaine Chao could be in line for the top spot at the Department of Transportation.Linda Chavez is under consideration for labor secretary, AP reported. Implementation of new ergonomics rules is among the issues for that department.
Several names are floating around the post of treasury secretary, which play a key role in domestic and international economic policy, including tax policy, Customs Service and issues affecting financial markets.
AP said those being mentioned include Wall Street players Jack Hennessey, former chief of Credit Suisse First Boston; Walter Shipley, the retired chairman of Chase Manhattan; and Donald Marron, chairman of PaineWebber. Also mentioned are Rep. Bill Archer, retiring chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Bush economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey, a former Federal Reserve official who is seen as more likely to chair either the Council of Economic Advisers or the National Economic Council, AP said.
Bush has already named former Transportation Secretary Andrew Card as his chief of staff, and is widely expected to pick retired Gen. Colin Powell as his secretary of state and Condoleezza Rice as his national security adviser. Powell, Rice and Card all served in the administration of President George Bush. Transport Topics
Citizens' Group Ask NJ Assembly to Abolish Parkway Toll
On Friday, a citizens group asked New Jersey's state assembly to abolish the 35 cent toll on the Garden State Parkway, Bloomberg reported. The parkway runs along the state's coastline and carries more than 1 million vehicles, including trucks, per day.The group says the toll is not necessary to operate the road. But toll authorities say the revenues contribute to paying $56 million in debt obligations and $22.3 in operating costs, for police and traffic control, the article noted.
The assembly did not make any decisions, but the transportation committee has asked to meet with the citizens group in January for further discussion. Transport Topics
NYC Deliverymen Win $3M Minimum Wage Settlement
Trucking companies or private fleet managers using independent contractors who earn less than minimum wage may take caution from a $3 million wage settlement in New York City.A group of about 200 deliverymen won a settlement against the grocery firm Food Emporium, the New York Times reported Friday. The drivers ended up earning less then minimum wage - even when tips were included - for 12-hour workdays, the Times said. Though it said it would pay the settlement, Food Emporium contended that responsibility in this case really belonged with the outside delivery companies it used.
he deliverymen are now suing Gristede's Foods Inc. supermarkets and drugstore operator Duane Reade Inc. as well as two delivery companies, Hudson Delivery and Chelsea Trucking, the Times reported.
Hudson and Chelsea have long maintained that the deliverymen are independent contractors, but have stopped doing so now that those workers have organized under the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, according to the Times. Transport Topics
Rail Intermodal Traffic Up Slightly
Intermodal freight volume at major U.S. railroads increased 2.1% from 1999 levels to 183,961 units last week, the Association of American Railroads reported.In individual categories, the number of trailer units dropped 8% with 60,869 units, while containers rose 8.2% with 126,977 units, the report said.
Railroads that report to AAR make up 98% of U.S. rail intermodal volume. Transport Topics
Canadian Talks: Smog Reduction Yes, Climate Change No
The signing of one agreement with Canada could ease smog-related pollution pressures on trucking companies, but the failure of another could increase pressures on trucks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The United States and Canada signed an agreement Thursday to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide mainly from power plants, Reuters reported.
However, two days of climate change talks in Ottawa left a large gap with the European Union over greenhouse gases. The U.S. and Canada joined with Japan, Australia and New Zealand as part of an "umbrella group."
Offsetting carbon dioxide pollution by planting trees is a point of disagreement. Transport Topics
Calif. Power Shortage Could Disrupt Supply Chain
Trucking companies serving shippers and receivers in California could have their schedules disrupted as the electric power shortage continues.Thursday brought a "stage three" emergency, bringing the state power grid to the verge of rolling blackouts, Reuters reported. Such an emergency would bring hour-long power cuts to entire neighborhoods but could keep the whole grid from collapsing, Reuters reported.
Friday marked the fifth consecutive day emergency warnings, with a "stage two" alert in place until 10 p.m. Power from out of state is scarce due to cold weather in the Northeast, the same cold weather driving heating oil demand upon petroleum distillate stocks. Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- GM to Cut 1Q Production
- Daimler To Ask Suppliers to Cut Costs
- Diesel Fuel Deadline May Soften; GOP Drops Ergonomics Challenge
- U.S. Jobs Report Confirms Economic Slowdown
- Trucking Veteran Rose Named New CEO of BNSF
- Mich. Bill to Ease Tax for Canadian Truckers
- Expectations of UN-Iraq Settlement Pushes Oil Prices Down
- Canada's New-Home Starts Slide More Than Expected
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