P.M. Executive Briefing - Mar. 14
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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FOCUS-Trucking Firms Form Web Logistics Venture
Six trucking companies announced a combination of their logistics divisions to create an online transportation marketplace at Transplace.com, which at first concentrating on truckload, refrigerated, and intermodal transportation and later extend to other sectors.J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Covenant Transport, M.S. Carriers, Swift Transportation, Werner Enterprises, and U.S. Xpress Enterprises are each putting $5 million cash into the venture, in which J.B. Hunt will have a 28% equity stake and the others 13% to 16%.
Truck Driver's $3.5 Million Verdict for Accident Reduced to $2.1 Million
A $3.5 million verdict awarded to trucker Frank Kennedy, whose semi rolled over and hit another truck head-on due to poor load distribution, causing him to lose a leg, will be cut to $2.1 million because a jury in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court found him 40% contributorily negligent.Kennedy, who had been a coast-to-coast trucker for only four months, was driving a trailer loaded with 42,000 pounds of steel coils from Worthington Steel, a type of cargo he had not hauled before.
Lawyers for Worthington Industries argued that shippers are not liable for accidents caused by improper loading and securing under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. However, Judge Carolyn Engel Temin said it is routine to hold shippers wholly or partially responsible for correct loading, distribution, and securement.
Kennedy's attorneys said that Worthington, according to internal documents, had been put on notice as early as 1988 that it lacked appropriate equipment for securing steel in box-van trucks, and Kennedy testified that nobody at the company told him the load needed to be secured.
Kennedy was going under 25 miles per hour when his truck rolled over on a 90-degree turn while approaching a tollbooth on a Pennsylvania Turnpike exit; he was leaving the highway after another trucker warned him his trailer was tilted. Legal Intelligencer (03/14/00) P. 3; Duffy, Shannon P.
Sweden Attacks EU Decision to Block Volvo/Scania Merger
Swedish Industry Minister Bjorn Rosengren said the European Commission's Tuesday veto of Volvo and Scania's merger plans was "deeply regrettable" and that the EC should have focused on the European market as a whole rather than concentrating on the companies' combined share of the Swedish truck market.Volvo CEO Leif Johansson contended that the EC's decision appeared to violate "the basic concept of the common market" and that he could not answer all the questions brought up by the decision. It will now look at other alternatives and in the short term will hold onto its 45.5% share of Scania's capital. Scania CEO Leif Oestling merely said the EC decision will not seriously harm Scania in the near term.
In an interview that ran Tuesday, CEO Paolo Fresco of Fiat told an Italian newspaper that his company continues to be interested in Volvo, and analysts have said that both Swedish truckmakers may be more open to acquisition by a foreign company. Others have said Volvo could target Navistar or MAN for an acquisition. Agence France Presse (03/14/00)
Oil-Field Drivers Protest in Louisiana
Complaining that they get no say in setting freight rates, oilfield truckers protested Friday at the Shell Oil offices in New Orleans. They also said tankers' low fuel efficiency exacerbates the diesel-price crisis for them. eTrucker.net (03/13/00)Outside Frame Avoids Side Underride
Bernard Krone GmbH, of Werlte, Germany, has introduced the Safe Liner semitrailer, which prevents side underride and rear underride in accidents by moving the I-beam rails, which are under the floor in most European trailers, to the outside of the wheels, serving as safety guards in addition to load supports.Most European trucks must protect against side underride by bicycles and pedestrians, but the stronger Safe Liner side guards can also protect against side underride for motorcycles and cars. Akin to a truss frame with rectangular openings to allow access to the underbody, the fully skirted trailers reduce splash and spray, road noise, fuel consumption, and wind buffeting of the trailer.
Crash tests found the Safe Liner successful in keeping a Volkswagen Golf and Ford Escort from going under the trailer from behind. Krone plans to offer the Safe Liner trailers in a 51-ft length that could hold 38 pallets, roughly seven feet longer than European rules allow; this is four more pallets than can be carried in the current Safe Liner. The Netherlands plans to conduct a test to see whether or not the longer trailer and higher GVW will cut truck volume on roadways.
The suspension on the Safe Liner trailers is entirely air sprung, with the air bag right above the axle, and the trailers feature air disc brakes with electronic actuation. According to Dr. Benard Krone, the company's CEO, fleets are currently testing the new trailers with minimal problems. The United States currently does not have any side underride protection requirements. Trailer/Body Builders (02/00) Vol. 41, No. 4; P. 64; Schenck, Paul
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