P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 14
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Oil Prices Fall as Clinton Considers Tapping U.S. Reserve
Crude oil prices fell on the national and international markets Thursday thanks to news that President Clinton may tap the U.S. Strategic Petroleum reserve, two news services reported.Brent crude fell 29 cents on London's International Petroleum Exchange to $31.71 a barrel, Bloomberg noted, while Reuters reported that U.S. crude fell 47 cents for the day to $33.81 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The White House earlier this week said Clinton is considering drawing from the 571-million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday he believed that release is very likely, as a move to prevent winter price spikes, Reuters said. Transport Topics
Burlington Restructures, Cuts Back in Truck Division
Burlington Industries, a major textile manufacturer, announced Thursday it will incur a $65 million to $75 million restructuring charge in the fourth quarter for moves that include cutting back its trucking operations, Reuters reported.The cutbacks, which are expected to eliminate about 1,600 jobs, include shutting down its Belmont, N.C., truck terminal and cutting back the size of its trucking fleet, the article said. Burlington currently carries a debt of approximately $900 million and said it cut capital spending to around $30 million, according to Reuters. Transport Topics
LA Transit Strike Deadline Looms
The three unions representing Los Angeles' Metropolitan Transportation Authority's bus drivers have set a deadline of 12:01 a.m. Friday to agree upon a new contract, and the outlook for averting a strike is not good, L.A.'s CBS-TV Channel 2 reports.MTA and the unions are at odds over work times, as the unions oppose drivers working four 10-hour days each week without overtime, according to Channel 2. MTA estimates that a strike would affect 1.5 million passengers daily, the news station said. Many of those riders would then have to take to Los Angeles' already-crowded freeways, further complicating the trips of truckers using those roads.
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairwoman Yvonne Brathwaite Burke urged drivers not to strike, saying such action would strand sen-ior citizens, students, the disabled and lower-income workers, the Los Angeles Times re-ported. Riordan and Burke also said they will insist on work rule changes in the new contract, the article said. Transport Topics
U.S. Rail Intermodal Hauls Decline in Latest Week
Intermodal volume at major U.S. railroads rose again in the latest week compared with the same days in 1999, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Thursday. Intermodal traffic covers trailers and containers that can be hauled by trucks or trains and involve both transport modes during their trips.Railroads handled 158,783 trailers and containers last week, a 1.7% decrease from the same week last year, which also included the Labor Day holiday, AAR said. Trailers dropped 13% to 48,400, while containers rose 4.2% over 1999 to 110,383 units.
For the first 36 weeks of 2000, intermodal traffic went up 3.2% for a total of 6,369,944 trailers and containers, according to AAR. Railroads reporting to AAR account for 98% of the country's rail intermodal volume. Transport Topics
Britain Rations First Motor Fuel Supplies; Protests Continue Elsewhere in Europe
With blockades ending at fuel depots and deliveries resuming to filling stations, the British government announced that first available supplies at fuel pumps would go to a list of essential services, Sky News reported Thursday. Although that country's protests are ebbing, blockades continue or loom on the horizon in other European countries, several news agencies report.British filling stations designated for priority re-stocking will be patrolled by law enforcement officials to keep out non-priority motorists; the priority list includes jobs such as emergency services and delivery of food or other necessary supplies, Sky News noted.
Esso, a major British oil company, had planned to raise prices on unleaded and diesel fuel, but backed down as protesters renewed demonstrations at its refinery, the Associated Press reported.
Protests continued in Belgium, while truckers in Hungary, Ireland, Spain and Poland planned their own demonstrations, which could go into effect within the week if those countries' governments do not act to relieve fuel taxes and prices, several news agencies reported. Irish truckers are planning "go-slow" convoys Friday as that government has refused to cut the diesel tax, Sky News said. Transport Topics
Freightliner Gets $400 Million Army Contract
Freightliner has been awarded a seven-year, $400 million contract to provide the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) with approximately 3,400 vehicles, the company announced Thursday.Under the agreement, Freightliner will build line-haul tractors, light equipment transporters and dump trucks for TACOM and will provide training, logistics support and electronic technical manuals, the company said. The U.S. military has been supplied with Freightliner vehicles since 1989.
Freightliner is a DaimlerChrysler subsidiary and makes heavy vehicles under the Freightliner, Sterling, American LaFrance and Thomas Built Buses names. Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- British Protests Slow; Other Countries Tackle Fuel Issue
- DaimlerChrysler Hit With Penalty From NHTSA
- International, DaimlerChrysler to Lay Off Workers
- U.S. August Inflation, Retail Sales Both Lower Than Expected
- GM Will Double Suzuki Holdings to 20%
- West Coast Port Drivers Back to Work After Winning Concessions
- Five More U.S. Deaths Linked to Firestone Tires
- Allied Holdings Issues 3Q Warning
- New E-Tool Added to American Freightways Web Site
- Information On Untethered Trailers Now Accessible via Internet, Through AirIQ
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