P.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 18
This Afternoon's Headlines:
ul>
Perilous Loads: Other States Lead in Safety
California, whose state Transportation Department employees responsible for giving permits to oversized truck loads still use maps and an unfinished computer system, has seen 14 crashes in 1999, including a deadly one in July, due to trucks being routed under overpasses too low for the overheight loads. Other states have systems designed to be more reliable.For the past half-decade, West Virginia has used a computer database of information on bridges and roads; such automation has been in place in Minnesota for close to 10 years and in Pennsylvania – still working the bugs out of its system – for 10 months. Two weeks from now will see the debut of a computer system to handle four-fifths of oversized trucks in Texas.
Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association Vice President Jeff Storey says it is tough to work with the different rules in different states. In Maryland, a car has to take a flagpole as high as the load with three extra inches all along the route ahead of time, and in Florida, five extra inches are needed and a car with a flagpole has to be in front of the truck. Los Angeles Times (10/18/99) P. A1; Garvey, Megan
USFreightways Launches USF eLogistics to Support Internet Based Business to Consumer Market
USFreightways says it has created the USF eLogistics unit to provide supply-chain services for companies sending goods to online consumers. Research from Boston Consulting Group with Shop.org and from Forrester Research show speedy growth in the e-commerce market, and USF Logistics President and CEO Doug Christensen says companies need a cost-cutting edge in competition. Real-time online data will be available to USF eLogistics shippers.John D. McNamara, lately a consultant and executive, will be Vice President and General Manager in charge of USF eLogistics. Business Wire (10/18/99)
Freight Makes a Comeback
FedEx Express Freight, once not the best operation in the company, has seen volume nearly double over 1998 figures. FedEx overhauled the service, bringing in new sales people with experience in the LTL sector and tried to bring in customers with higher-value shipments and an orientation toward time-definite service. Unlike United Parcel Service, FedEx Express Freight can handle palletized cargo.While it is too pricey for all of a shipper's freight, the service is right for certain shipments. Now, the company is set to relaunch international freight, taking its products straight to customers. Traffic World (10/18/99) Vol. 260, No. 3; P. 31; Krause, Kristin S.
Pete Ruotsi Joins Pacer Logistics as EVP, Sales & Marketing
The Pacer International division Pacer Logistics has appointed sales and customer-service consultant Peter M. Ruotsi to the position of executive vice president of sales and marketing. Prior to becoming a consultant, Ruotsi spent five years at Southern Pacific Transportation, serving as vice president and general manager for the intermodal division and as the company vice president of sales and customer service. Business Wire (10/18/99)DeFosset Named COO at Dura
Don DeFosset, lately president of Navistar International Corp.'s truck group as well as the corporation's executive vice president, has been appointed to the new post of executive vice president and COO at Dura Automotive Systems, a supplier of parking brake systems among other products. Among his former positions is that of Mack Trucks' executive vice president of operations. Automotive News (10/18/99) No. 5843; P. 23Briefs: Consolidated Freightways, Gordon Trucking, Country Wide Transport Services, Atlas Van Lines
In a three-year renewal deal, Consolidated Freightways will still be the main long-haul LTL carrier for 3M.Pacific, Wash.-based Gordon Trucking has now been given Ponderay Newsprint's "Eagle" award three times; it lately topped the category of shipping and finishing.
After selling Vertex Transportation assets to C.H. Robinson, the holding company Country Wide Transport Services paid its initial 60-cent dividend on Sept. 17; the estimated total settling dividend for each common share will be 85 cents to $1.
Atlas Van Lines has replaced its old tariff system with the 88-page ATVL 500 tariff, which will speed up cost quoting. Traffic World (10/18/99) Vol. 260, No. 3; P. 23
Truck Safety Report Taken to Task by Engineers
PACCAR Inc.'s senior technical director as well as Freightliner and Western Star engineers put together a joint statement criticizing the decision by Alberta's Human Resources and Employment Minister and Infrastructure Minister to allow log trucks to run at weights higher than manufacturer's specs.The three companies were consulted by the author of a report by a government task force, which said the risk has not been too high when overloading was done in the past and would be even better with regular safety inspections.
Marketing director Doug Shand of Western Star says overloading trucks would make failures happen faster than they could be detected and prevented. Shand also wondered whether inspections of components that are difficult to inspect would be performed often enough in the quick-duration season for log hauling and how an insurer would react to claims if trucks are overloaded.
That the truckmakers take issue with the task force report is "news to me," says Larry Skory, spokesman for the Alberta Forest Products Association, pointing to past safety in the industry as well as the new rules for hazard assessment. Daily Herald-Tribune (Grande Prairie, Alberta) Online (10/15/99); Guerette, Deb
© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
