P.M. Executive Briefing - Jan. 10

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This Afternoon's Headlines:

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  • RESEARCH ALERT - Morgan Stanley Cuts Roadway
  • Briefs: Colorado Motor Carriers Association, Great Coastal Express
  • BusinessHere.com Launches New Internet Freight Service
  • Trucks on the Cutting Edge
  • For Gas Tax, AAA Maps Best Route to Defeat
  • Study: 3PLs Continued Strong Growth in 1999
  • Fed One, Logistics Company Plan Rickenbacker Project

    RESEARCH ALERT - Morgan Stanley Cuts Roadway

    Morgan Stanley on Monday said it cut Roadway Express to a neutral rating from an outperform rating. There was no other information available. Reuters (01/10/00)


    Briefs: Colorado Motor Carriers Association, Great Coastal Express

    The Colorado Motor Carriers Association wants to change the state specific ownership tax, for which the current rate is 75% of manufacturers suggested retail price, regardless of purchase price. The association is cooperating with the state legislature, trying to make certain that a vehicle's taxable value will not be higher than what the buyer paid for it.



    The Chester, Va.-based Great Coastal Express was given two Liberty Mutual Gold Awards for its loss and accident frequency ratios, which were "significantly better" than the averages for the industry. Traffic World (01/10/00) Vol. 261, No. 2; P. 30


    BusinessHere.com Launches New Internet Freight Service

    BusinessHere.com, an Ohio-based business-to-business e-commerce service provider, has developed the online shipping service ShipHere.com in partnership with Click Logistics. The site finds users the best rates and transportation modes for their shipments by scanning a diverse portfolio of carriers. Business News of Dayton Online (01/10/00)


    Trucks on the Cutting Edge

    The 1999 Fast-Track 500 list in PC Week magazine, citing businesses for their ability to adjust to Internet-based technology, included two trucking-industry companies.

    At the top of the list was the truckmaker Paccar, which was cited for diverse information-systems initiatives including being the first truck manufacturer in the Automotive Network Exchange. Paccar makes Peterbilt and Kenworth vehicles.

    In fourth place on the list was United Parcel Service, cited for being ahead of the pack on real-time electronic communications as well as Internet services for customers. TruckingInfo.com (01/10/00); Bendel, John


    For Gas Tax, AAA Maps Best Route to Defeat

    The board of directors of AAA Oregon/Idaho gave its approval to a planned strategy to defeat an Oregon ballot measure that would impose a tax on diesel while eliminating the weight-distance tax.

    The AAA said the grass-roots strategy includes contacting members and creating a political action committee to handle campaign contributions. It will probably have an easier time now than it did in its failed 1992 effort to prohibit triple trailers, since the current ballot measure is unpopular in the polls and includes higher gas taxes and registration fees. However, it says it will likely not be able to spend as much as the $3 million to $5 million that trucking, business, and union interests plan for their campaign to pass the measure.

    The AAA contends the change will raise taxes for companies with truck fleets that do most of their business in the state, while lowering taxes for interstate carriers. It will try to get this message across to Oregon truck-fleet owners, which auto club President Roger Graybeal said might create their own political action committee to oppose the measure. Portland Oregonian Online (01/08/00); Mayer, James


    Study: 3PLs Continued Strong Growth in 1999

    An Armstrong & Associates study reports a 16.5% growth in third-party contract logistics services last year, with an 18% gain in domestic transportation management and dedicated contract carriage. The estimated 1999 revenue for 3PLs based in the United States was $46 billion, with 5% net profitability and $25 billion in net revenue, according to firm President Richard Armstrong.

    Citing the number of Fortune 500 firms that are still performing logistics operations in-house, as well as the promise of e-commerce fulfillment, Armstrong predicts 3PL growth to stay at 15% to 20% over the coming three to four years. Journal of Commerce Online (01/10/00)


    Fed One, Logistics Company Plan Rickenbacker Project

    Commodity Logistics, a 3PL provider, and Fed One Dublin, a public warehouse operator, have teamed up to build an $8.5 million, 500,000-square-foot distribution center near Rickenbacker Air Industrial Park in Columbus, Ohio.

    The companies would enter into a joint venture, Commodity One Ltd., that would buy 127 acres purchased by Fed One last month located near CSX and Norfolk Southern lines and Route 317.

    The companies were to request a 60% seven-year tax abatement from the city council Monday. According to the city development department, the tax breaks would total $816,704 over the seven-year term. But the development would generate an estimated $783,705 in city school district revenue and more than $1.3 million in income and property taxes during the term, the department said. The proposed center would have 200 employees in late 2003. Business First of Columbus Online (01/10/00); Ball, Brian R.

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