P.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 12
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Transport Funding/Hours Bill Now in Clinton's Hands
Congress sent the transportation funding bill for fiscal 2001 to the White House on Wednesday, for President Clinton to sign the measure that also suspends a federal proposal to curb truckers' driving hours.The president is expected to approve the bill, and has 10 days from receiving it to pen his signature. The bill funds federal transportation spending programs for the budget year that began Oct. 1.
But it prevents the Department of Transportation from implementing a controversial safety plan it developed that would cut the number of hours a truck driver can operate his rig in a day, as a effort to combat driver fatigue that can lead to wrecks.
Under a deal worked out in Congress, DOT cannot change federal rules on trucker hours in the next fiscal year, and various parties have vowed to push for changes to the reform plan during that time. John Wislocki, Transport Topics
Euell Forfeits Its Share of SPR Oil
Euell Energy, one of three small firms awarded swaps contracts for oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, has forfeited its three million barrels because it could not obtain the necessary letters of credit, Reuters reported.The other two companies, Lance Stroud Enterprises and Burhany Energy Enterprises, were given until midnight Friday to obtain their letters of credit, the story said.
The U.S. Department of Energy will likely ask for new bids on Euell's share of the oil Monday, a spokesman told Reuters. Transport Topics
Middle East Violence Won't Disrupt Oil Supply
Oil officials and analysts alike said do not expect Israeli-Palestinian tensions and other Middle East violence to disrupt oil production, Bloomberg reported Thursday.Crude oil prices had risen earlier in the day as much as 11% on the New York Mercantile Exchange and London's International Petroleum Exchange, as buyers feared such a disruption. Financials were hit as well; the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points due to concerns over the Middle Eastern conflicts as well as an earnings warning from Home Depot, the Associated Press said.
However, Bloomberg reported that spokesmen for Qatar's and Iran's oil ministries both said it was very unlikely that their countries' oil output would experience any disruptions due to the tensions. Analysts say the same is true of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer.
By afternoon, twelve sailors were still missing from the USS Cole, a destroyer hit by a small boat carrying explosives in an apparent suicide bombing, Reuters reported. Four U.S. sailors have been officially reported killed and at least 36 wounded, five seriously.
President Clinton made brief televised remarks on the incident Thursday afternoon, saying the United States would re-spond if the act is found to be one of terrorism, and calling for an end to Israeli-Palestinian violence. Transport Topics
LA County Workers End Strike at Cardinal's Behest
The Service Employees International Union sent its 47,000 Los Angeles county workers back to their public service jobs Thursday thanks to the intercession of Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony, the Los Angeles Times reported.Mahony had issued a statement calling for the strike to be suspended and contract negotiations to continue, which will happen, the story said.
Meanwhile, a four-week-old transportation workers' strike continued Thursday as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority waited to hear if the union representing its bus and rail operators would accept what MTA called its final offer. Transport Topics
Rail Intermodal Traffic Still on Record Pace
Intermodal freight volume at major U.S. railroads registered its second-highest weekly total on record last week, trailing only the previous week's 200,000-plus shipments, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Thursday.Intermodal traffic includes trailers and containers that can be hauled by trucks or trains and involve both transport modes during their trips.
Rail-hauled intermodal loads last week totaled 195,589 trailers and containers, up 3.9% from the same week in 1999, AAR said. Separately, trailers dropped again from 1999 levels, this time 10.5% to 61,324 units, while containers continued their rise, up 12.2% to 134,265 units handled, the report said.
Railroads reporting to AAR account for 98% of U.S. rail intermodal volume. Transport Topics
Pokemon Loses Power; Hasbro Will Close Plants
The Pokemon phenomenon is apparently cooling, as Hasbro Inc. (HAS) will close plants and cut back its workforce due to declining third-quarter profit, Bloomberg reported Thursday.This is bad news for the trucking companies serving the toymaker's Cincinnati, San Francisco and Napa, Calif., plants. Those facilities will be shut down, with 550 jobs cut, the story said.
Demand has slowed for toys featuring the cartoon character Pokemon and Star Wars movie characters, leaving Hasbro with quarterly earnings that fell from 43 cents per share in 1999 to an estimated 6-10 cents per share, Bloomberg said. Hasbro also makes the popular Monopoly board game, Tonka trucks and Play Doh. Transport Topics
U.S. Non-oil Import Prices Fall
Prices of imports other than energy fell 0.3% in September, the U.S. Labor Department said.Bloomberg noted that is the biggest decline in 1½ years, which was when U.S. consumers were still enjoying import price deflation after the Asian economic collapse.
The decline reflects partly a strong U.S. dollar that makes imports cheaper, but also strong U.S. demand for foreign-made goods. Bloomberg said the figure also suggests this country's appetite for imports is helping keep U.S. inflation low.
That, in turn, would help prevent U.S. interest rates from rising, unless energy costs are rising enough to push other do-mestic prices generally higher. Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- Ryder CEO Burns to Retire
- Landstar 3Q Earnings Per Share Up Over 1999
- Cummins Earnings Fall on Weak North American Market
- Senate Passes Auto-Safety Overhaul
- Singapore Air Boosts California Freight Runs
- 2 SPR Contract-Winners May Not Get Credit Letters
- Renault May Sell Bus Stake to Aid Volvo Deal
- GM Reports 5.5% Lower 3Q Profits; Beats Street
- USPS/FedEx Alliance Continues to Raise Questions
- 2 Railroad Corridors Designated for High-Speed Service
- Parcel-Delivery Services, Law Enforcement Clash Over Package Searches
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