P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 13
ul>
Florida Truck Firm D & K Transport Slashes Size on Fuel Crunch
Florida truckload carrier D & K Transport will likely lose its status as one of Dade City, Fla.'s largest employers, as it will cut 75% of its work force and sell off much of its fleet because of skyrocketing diesel costs, the St. Petersburg Times reported Wednesday.D & K will cut its workforce from about 200 to about 60, and sell more than 50 of its tractors as well as dozens of trailers, reducing the fleet from 88 tractor-trailer combinations, the article said.
Company co-owner Bill Surratt told the Times that, while he hated to make the cuts, it is no longer possible to try to ride out the rising diesel fuel costs which are cutting into D & K's profits. A similar fate may befall many long-haul trucking companies, which operate on tight profit margins to beat the competition, if fuel prices continue at the current upward pace. Transport Topics
Truck Tire X-ray Practices May Point Way for Smaller Vehicles
Trucking may be leading the way for cars and other vehicles in X-ray examination of tires. Participants at a tire convention in Akron, Ohio expressed greater interest in X-ray and laser technology to detect problems, in the wake of the Firestone tire recall, according to Wednesday's New York Times.The truck industry X-rays 100% of its tires, a consultant attending event told the Times. Many conference participants said truck tires are for the most part made better than those on passenger cars, the Times said, though the consultant noted that tight profit margins for passenger tires do not allow for X-ray costs. Transport Topics
Clinton Comes Under Attack by Republicans on Oil Prices
The Clinton administration is coming under attack because of the rising costs of heating oil and other fuel. Republican New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani urged the president to "wake up" regarding that issue, and Texas Gov. George W. Bush's GOP presidential campaign hopes to make this a campaign issue, news services report.Giuliani called on President Clinton to pressure OPEC for more oil, and announced the formation of a city task force to help New Yorkers overcome high oil prices, the Daily News (New York) reported Wednesday. The mayor said New York paid more than $25 million more for heating oil in the winter of 1999-2000 than the previous year, and that Clinton's planned two-million-barrel Northeast heating oil reserve would do little to help the oil-dependent city, according to the Daily News.
Meanwhile, a Bush campaign spokesman blamed the Clinton administration for the high oil prices, the Washington Times reported. The price spikes are due to the failure of the administration to have a "coherent energy policy," the spokesman told the Times. However, a Michigan pollster said only 11% of voters blame the administration for higher oil prices - instead, first blaming OPEC and then oil companies, the article said. Bush's opponent, Vice President Al Gore, has attacked big businesses such as oil companies in his campaign.
Congress will take a look at surging oil prices as the House Government Reform Committee called Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman James Hoecker and business owners to testify Sept. 21 on what is being done to cut energy costs, the Times also reported.
A separate Times report noted that oil market analysts are warning that the Northeast reserve may actually increase prices. An American Petroleum Institute official said filling the reserve with oil intended for commercial use could backfire, reducing the amount available as consumers begin to purchase their own winter stockpiles. He recommended instead that the government provide assistance to low-income consumers, truckers, and others strongly affected by the rising prices. Transport Topics
Major Fuel Protests Seen as Unlikely in United States
Members of the trucking and transportation industries do not expect U.S. truckers to stage any kind of major protest like those hampering European countries, the Kansas City Star reports.While truckers and others in the U.S. transport industry are upset over record highs in fuel prices, they do not face as high a level of gas taxes as European drivers, the article said. On top of that, the euro currency is in a slump, which cuts truckers' and other drivers' profits even more, the report noted, as they pay for things valued in U.S. dollars such as oil or U.S.-produced goods.
Should any U.S. protests occur, they would be smaller than those in Europe and limited mainly to voicing displeasure in state capitals or in Washington, D.C., an industry executive told the Star. Transport Topics
US&T's Velocity Express Goes for Green Shipping
United Shipping & Technology's Velocity Express, a supplier of same-day delivery and logistics services, will launch "Green Shipping" initiatives aimed at increasing environ-mental efficiency, US&T announced Wednesday.The plan will focus on developing systems and technologies to reduce mileage in delivery of ground and air packages, the amount of shipping materials required for deliveries and the company's dependence on traditional fossil-fueled vehicles, the company said.
US&T provides same-day delivery and transportation services to several Fortune 500 companies and others in various industries such as healthcare, chemical, computers, electronics and e-commerce. Transport Topics
Overnite Improves Several Regional Services
Overnite Transportation said Wednesday it will improve its Florida-Southeast and Michigan-Northeast services as part of its Advantage Overnite expanded regional service, effective Sept. 18.Improvements to the 458 Florida-Southeast lanes will reduce transport times between Florida points and other Southeast markets, the company said. Service will also be upgraded for 147 Michigan-Northeast lanes, giving that state two-day service to other markets in the Northeast region.
Through the Advantage Overnite plan, Overnite now offers 100% full-state coverage in 32 states east of the Rockies and more than 15,000 next- and second-day service lanes.
Overnite is a less-than-truckload carrier and the trucking division of Union Pacific Corp. Transport Topics
Deutsche Post Eyes France's Geodis, Larger Stake in DHL
German press reports say that country's fast-expanding postal service, Deutsche Post AG is in talks for a major stake in the French transport and logistics group Geodis SA, according to The Journal of Commerce Online.This is yet another cargo-related move by Europe's national postal systems, and is in line with last week's announced alliance plans by the U.S. Postal Service and overnight delivery giant Federal Express. On Tuesday, FedEx also said it had formed an alliance with the French postal service, La Poste.
The JOC story said Deutsche Post's Geodis move, along with a reported effort to boost its stake in DHL, come as Deutsche Post has already acquired various forwarding and logistics firms in the last two years and now nears a November initial public stock offering. Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- Clinton Monitoring Oil Prices; Options Include Reserve Tap
- British Truckers Protest on Blair's Doorstep; Gas Stations Run Dry
- U.S. Import Prices Rise 0.2%, Less Than Predicted
- Wall Street Concerned About DaimlerChrysler in Third Quarter
- Atlas Air Steps Up Talks With Pilots
- InformationWeek Names Top Firms for IT Innovation
- TRISM Subsidiary Awarded 5-Year Energy Dept. Contract
- Forward Air's Logtech, United Cargo Call Off Tech Talks
| ||||
