P.M. Executive Briefing - Jan. 4
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Viking Ups Fuel Surcharge; Another Rise in Store
Viking Freight on Monday began imposing a 3% fuel surcharge for shipments of at least 20,000 pounds and a 1.5% surcharge for smaller shipments. Next week, the regional LTL unit of FDX will raise the surcharges to 5% and 2%, respectively. Memphis Commercial Appeal Online (01/04/00); Thompson, RichardGovernment Unions Are Looking For Recruits in the Private Sector
Some unions representing government employees are retaliating for the increasing privatization of civil-service jobs by organizing employees of private government contractors. The American Postal Workers Union lately was chosen as bargaining representative by truckers who carry U.S. mail for a government contractor in Albuquerque, N.M.
Peters Named Head of Penske
Penske Chairman Roger S. Penske said Richard J. Peters, who has spent more than a decade on the corporation's board, has been appointed to the post of president of the corporation. Peters has served in the past as Penske's executive vice president and CFO and as president and CEO of Penske Motorsports. Detroit News (01/04/00) P. B2Werner to Try LTL-Style Lanes
Werner Enterprises is beginning to give truckload drivers the ability to be home every night like their LTL counterparts by having two drivers meet each other halfway, trade trucks, and return to their original terminals. The company is using electronic logbooks and computerized scheduling to put the relay system in place along high-density lanes. Some 35% of cargo handled by Werner goes through such a relay.Drivers are given 10-hour work days and drive a total 500, 1,000, or 1,500 miles per relay at 500 miles a day. A truck might pass through five or six truckers on its way across the country. But irregular-route sleeper-cab team driving will still account for some 20% of Werner's fleet. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (01/04/00); Sturgess, Steve
Former Transportation Secretary Skinner Elected to USFreightways Board
Samuel Skinner, who served as U.S. Transportation secretary between 1989 and 1991 and as President George Bush's chief of staff, has been elected to the USFreightways board.From 1993 to 1998, Skinner was President of Commonwealth Edison, and he has also worked in the past as a federal prosecutor and as the chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority of Northern llinois. USFreightways Chairman and CEO Cam Carruth said Skinner's "broad business and transportation background will be of great benefit as we enter the next millennium." Journal of Commerce Online (01/04/00)
North Carolina Offers New Traffic Site
Current images from Interstate 40 traffic cameras in traffic-dense regions of North Carolina are available online at www.ncsmartlink.org. The site remains in development, with images from cameras nearest Raleigh made available initially and Winston-Salem cameras next in line. TruckingInfo.com (01/04/00)Consolidated Delivery, Dispatch Management Call Off Merger Talks
Consolidated Delivery & Logistics and Dispatch Management Services on Friday announced they have called off talks on a "merger of equals." The merger talks were announced Dec. 6. The companies did not explain why the discussions are being suspended. Journal of Commerce Online (01/04/00)Work Week
Reversing a lower court decision, the federal Appeals Court for the 6th District ruled that United Parcel Service flight-training supervisor Frank Dorsey was legally protected from being fired for union activity.Under the distinctions found at most airlines, Dorsey was considered a "management" pilot, rather than a "line pilot," but he attempted to get management pilots into the UPS pilots' union. He was fired as a result.
If Dorsey were truly a manager, UPS would have the legal right to fire him for union activity, but the firing is not allowed if Dorsey is viewed by the law as a "subordinate official" rather than a true manager. Wall Street Journal (01/04/00) P. A1; Miller, James P.
Ontario Puts More Money into Highways than Ever Before
The province of Ontario set a record for a single-year highway spending in 1999, with 11 bridges built, 62 bridges and overpasses overhauled, and improvements or upgrades to 2,000 lane kilometers of Ontario highways. All of the 1999 construction projects are included in the provincial government's five-year partnership capital fund, the SuperBuild Growth Fund. Ontario Transportation Minister David Turnbull explained the province's highway spending by saying, "Safer roads mean safer communities." Layover.com (01/03/00)© copyright 2000 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
