P.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 13
This Morning's Headlines:
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f Handguns
Package-Delivery Concerns' Restrictions Aim to Curtail Shipments of Handguns
RPS Inc. officials say their company will stop delivering handguns, while Airborne Freight Corp. is cutting off delivery of all guns and ammunition. This comes after last week's announcement from United Parcel Service of America that it will no longer carry handguns through its ground service.
Now, the only remaining choices for handguns, among prominent, cross-country package carriers, are the pricier overnight services of UPS and FedEx. Wall Street Journal (10/13/99) P. A6; Blackmon, Douglas A.
Delphi Secures Key Contract From Caterpillar
Delphi Automotive Systems, which ceased to be a General Motors subsidiary in May, received a contract ending in 2004 to make electronics for diesel engines and other parts for Caterpillar.Analysts were unsure how well Delphi would do landing non-GM business, since its costs are fairly high, but Delphi has also won contracts with companies such as Mack Trucks and Nissan Motor.
When Delphi was still part of GM, outside companies made up 21 percent of sales; 33 percent of new orders after the spinoff have been outside GM. Chicago Tribune (10/13/99) P. 3, Business Section; Arndt, Michael
Ploof Says Buyer for Truck Line in Works
The Jacksonville, Fla., company Cypress Truck Lines has bid to purchase Ploof Truck Lines, also of Jacksonville, which made a Chapter 11 filing in September.According to Dan Copeland, Chairman and CEO of Ploof, the purchase price would be $11.45 million, although approval of the deal is up to Judge Jerry A. Funk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. He will look over the proposal as well as any other bids at a Nov. 5 hearing.
The Ploof name will be retained if the Cypress proposal is approved.
Ploof has one terminal in each of eight states. Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) Online (10/13/99) ; Barker-Benfield, Simon
NTSB Public Hearing to Examine the Effect of NAFTA on American Highway Safety
The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public hearing Oct. 20-22 at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton regarding North American Free Trade Agreement-related road-safety matters. The hearing will see discussion of such topics as how the different countries' rules and processes will work together. Participants should include higher-ups from the governments of the United States and Canada, labor unions, advocates, and businesses.The NTSB earlier held hearings on truck and bus safety in Washington, D.C., and Nashville, Tenn. Land Line Magazine Online (10/13/99)
Ambitious Plan to Lessen Truck Traffic Failing
Although the Maine Economic Growth Council, which has been around for six years, wanted trucking's portion of all freight moved in Maine to fall to 76 percent by 2000, the state Department of Transportation says trucking's portion rose to 89 percent in 1997. That is up from 65 percent in 1982. An 8 percent rise in freight moved by road occurred between 1991 and 1995.Rob Elder of the DOT Office of Freight Transportation attributes trucking's gains to "'just in time' inventory control."
On Oct. 26, the economic growth council will have a panel discussion about the increase in trucking.
Elder says there is increasing use of the intermodal sites in Waterville and Auburn, and another intermodal facility is planned for Presque Isle.
Maine has been trying to increase rail freight with state funding, which has added spurs for businesses.
Maine Coast Railroad Executive Vice President and General Manager Newton Hinckley points to railroad cars' higher capacity than trucks', and his railroad is set to expand to Augusta. But Maine Motor Transport Association President Dale Hannington figures trucking will continue to be popular, both because of changes in inventory control and because trucking schedules are adjustable.
Hannington says competition helped trucking's popularity after the 1981 deregulation, but it was gaining even before then. Kennebec Journal (Augusta, Maine) (10/12/99) P. A1; McGillvray, Dan
Windsor: Road May Not Be Ready for 2nd Bridge
Although a second span is planned for the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, officials in Windsor are concerned that a connecting road to Highway 401 to accommodate the extra traffic will not be prepared by the planned completion date of 2012.The Michigan Transportation Department intends to have better bridge access on its side by 2005 thanks to the in-the-works Gateway Project.
On the Ontario side, however, the six-mile Huron Church Road between the bridge and Highway 401 -- the chief highway for the southwestern part of the province -- will probably reach its capacity in half a decade if truck traffic keeps growing at the pace it has been, according to Matt Marchand, policy assistant to Windsor's mayor. "Truck traffic has more than doubled in the past eight years," he says.
Marchand says the Windsor City Council is thinking about a truck surcharge for Huron Church Road, since the city has to pay for all of the road's maintenance.
Both Marchand and Bob Nichols, the Ontario Transportation Ministry's media liaison officer, are open to other Detroit River crossing possibilities. However, Wayne State University transportation and logistics professor John Taylor thinks other bridges are unlikely.
Nichols says the Transportation Ministry has studied the Detroit-Toronto corridor's long-term transportation choices; among the proposals was an extension of Highway 401 to the bridge. Crain's Detroit Business (10/4/99-10/10/99) Vol. 15, No. 40; P. 3; Kosdrosky, Terry
People: Meritor Automotive, ExpressTrak
Meritor Automotive has moved Thomas Gosnell from the position of vice president and general manager, worldwide aftermarket services, to the position of president, aftermarket business, as well as senior vice president.ExpressTrak named Don Gagen as vice president, customer service/operations; he previously was Canadian National Railway/Grand Trunk Western's vice president, business management.
ExpressTrak also picked up Mike Kenney as general manager, customer service/operations, from his previous position as senior manager of transportation services at Canadian National Railway/Grand Trunk Western. Crain's Detroit Business (10/4/99-10/10/99) Vol. 15, No. 40; P. 44
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