P.M. Executive Briefing - May 9
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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No HOT Lanes for Orange Freeway, Transit Officials Rule
Officials in Orange County, Calif., have turned down a proposal to cut congestion on the Orange Freeway by establishing HOT lanes, under which vehicles with too few occupants for the carpool lanes could pay to use them anyway.Instead, officials are focusing on certain stretches of the highway where extra lanes, including climbing lanes for trucks to use while going uphill, may be added.
HOT lanes would have faced both high costs and a potentially difficult time getting the legislature to approve adding tolls to the road; also, a study indicates that they may have made some congestion worse. Los Angeles Times (05/09/00) P. 3B; Garvey, Megan
Trucks Passing Drive Clean Tests
According to the Ontario Trucking Association, over the past year 94% of vehicles have passed the Drive Clean emissions tests, which the province requires of trucks over three years old. In some metropolitan areas, light trucks and cars must be tested as well. The pass rate for vehicles under six years old is 99%, while only 80% of light-duty vehicles pass. Land Line Magazine Online (05/09/00)Volvo Faces Major Strikes, Shutdowns at its European Plants
Shortly after its announced purchase of Mack Trucks parent company Renault VI, Volvo said it may have to close down three plants in Sweden and Belgium due to parts shortages caused by an ongoing strike in Norway.If the Norwegian strike continues, Volvo and BMW could both shut plants by Wednesday; the strikers have already turned down a pay hike and added vacation days that have been offered.
Despite the strike, eight out of 15 industry analysts are giving Volvo a buy rating, and 15 out of 23 recommend buying stock in Renault. Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) Online (05/07/00); Shope, Dan
Penske Polishes Carpenter's Logistics
Reading, Pa.-based Carpenter Technology chose Penske Logistics to redesign its distribution network, overhauling a 50-year-old logistics infrastructure and an oversized warehouse system.With steps that included implementing such management software as optimization applications, Penske says it cut the amount of Carpenter distribution centers 62%, while system miles dropped 11% and freight costs fell 21%. It also raised the amount of next-day deliveries, Penske says.
Because of the logistics operations' size, Carpenter is able to save money through the economics of scale, while new systems allow Carpenter and its customers to monitor shipments and loads in real time. Penske's round-the-clock Transport Management Services center serves as the central data-collection location for Penske Logistics customers like Carpenter or Sealy Mattress.
The Transportation Manager system from I2 Technologies allows employees to handle such functions as shipment optimization, reporting, and invoicing and payment. The TM system automatically picks carriers and transportation modes that will fulfill customer needs while saving the most money, and it can also handle consolidation of two different clients' shipments. It also enables tracking and traing as well as auditing, billing, and report generation. Commercial Carrier Journal (04/00) Vol. 157, No. 4; P. 53; Desmond, Parry
Tire Cost Tracking
Bridgestone offers hints and resources to help owner-operators and fleets track their tire-related costs, including tire and retread costs, casings, disposal, maintenance, and repairs.A single-truck operation should keep up with every tire, while a larger fleet should monitor 10 percent of its vehicles, or at least 30 vehicles if the fleet is smaller than 300 vehicles. It can also help to monitor how many miles it takes to wear down 1/32 of an inch of tread; this information can help forecast how long a tire can be used before it wears out, although these projections tend to be lower than the actual figure.
Armed with this data, buyers can look at several tires and weigh competing factors, such as tread life versus the amount of retreadings that the casing will withstand. Bridgestone has worksheets available in Adobe Acrobat format on its www.trucktires.com Web site, under "Real Answers." Owner Operator (04/00) Vol. 30, No. 3; P. 46; Conte, Frank
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