P.M. Executive Briefing - Jan. 14
The A.M. and P.M. Executive Briefings will not run on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The briefings will resume on Tuesday.
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Company Launches Home Delivery Service
Hub Group Distribution Services has started home delivery of items bought online that are larger than parcel size. The service thus does not compete directly with Federal Express, United Parcel Service, the postal service, and similar companies that have size and/or weight limits.
Although it would not go into specifics, Hub said it counts some prominent national online retailers among the clients of the service, which started up in November. Journal of Commerce (01/14/00) P. 9; Kaufman, Lawrence H.
New Jersey Sets Fines, Nixes Overtime Pay
In addition to passing a system of fines for the state's truck ban, the New Jersey legislature voted to exclude trucking companies' workers from the state Wage and Hour law, making the state law comply with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.A federal court's 1999 interpretation of the state law raised concern among New Jersey trucking companies that they might have to pay drivers overtime and by the hour rather than by the mile. Gov. Christie Whitman was expected to sign the Wage and Hour change. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (01/14/00) ; Bendel, John
Cushing Elected to Board of Trailer Bridge
C.R. Cushing & Co. President Charles R. Cushing has been elected to the board of directors at Trailer Bridge. Cushing founded his New York naval architecture firm in the late 1960s after spending seven years at Sea-Land Service. Trailer Bridge serves the continental United States and Puerto Rico with trucking and marine service. Journal of Commerce Online (01/14/00)Driver Finishing Standards Drafted
The Professional Truck Driver Institute, which has already developed entry-level and second seat standards, has released draft standards for certifying company driver finishing programs. Following comments on the draft from 800-plus stakeholders, the final revisions are scheduled to go to the PTDI board Jan. 24. The standards are available by fax from Virginia DeRoze, (703) 836-6610. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (01/14/00)Traffic Studies Are Federal Intrusion, Chevrette Charges
Quebec's transport minister Thursday charged that the federal Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Corp. intruded into the province's jurisdiction by commissioning two Montreal-area traffic studies. Two bridges that would connect Highway 30 to Highways 20 and 540, allowing trucks to avoid Montreal island, are proposed in one of the studies.Bridge corporation President Michel Fournier responded to Transport Minister Guy Chevrette's charges by saying that while the province has jurisdiction over transportation, traffic issues on the two bridges had become urgent. The study compiled statistics showing an 11% annual increase in truck and trailer usage of the Champlain bridge from 1992 to 1997, and this will rise further due to more U.S. trade.
The head of the decade-old committee on the completion of Highway 30 said the truck study will help get the C$625 million needed from the Transport Department to build the two bypass bridges. Montreal Gazette (01/14/00) P. A5; Parkes, Debbie
Web Site Offers Transportation Clearinghouse
The Transportation Research Information Service database is now available on the National Transportation Library's Web site as TRIS Online. TRIS is a database of transportation research records, created under a mandate of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Users of TRIS Online will be able to get the reports online in full or access the documents' suppliers or publishers. CNN Online (01/13/00); Trimble, Paula ShakiInventor Concocts Portable Coffee Maker to Aid Truckers
Swiss inventor Roland Wolf has been in Florida recently trying to gauge interest in his new Kombimat Coffee Maker, designed to allow truckers to brew coffee in their rigs by attaching a bottle of water to the dashboard-mounted machine. He said he devised the invention to help truck drivers, saying "the poor guys are always on the [road] and in stress" and that without them "we cannot work."The machine can make a cup of coffee (or tea, hot chocolate, etc.) in four minutes or less with the power from a 12-volt cigarette lighter. If Wolf and his Swiss and U.S. partners find enough interest, the machine could be produced and sold under the U.S. name Truck Coffee Maker by April. Daytona Beach News-Journal (01/13/00) P. 11A; Gowen, Matt
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