P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 20
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DOE's Richardson: U.S. Attendance in Special Energy Meeting Up to Clinton
U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said Wednesday that the United States' participation in a special European Union/OPEC meeting over oil prices was up to President Clinton, Reuters reported.Asked by Reuters if the talks - which France intends to propose at this weekend's meeting of the Group of Seven major industrial nations - were a good idea, Richardson said that "dialogue is always important" but the president would have to decide on U.S. attendance, the article said.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were broadly weaker in Wednesday trading, with reports attributing that to concern over how oil prices will hurt corporate profits.
The wireservice also said that Clinton on Tuesday had said he wanted a few more days to assess market reaction to OPEC's pending output hike before deciding whether to tap the 571 million-barrel U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Transport Topics
Senate Committee Approves Legislation to Beef Up Tire Safety
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved legislation Wednesday that increases tire safety standards for both tire and auto makers, Bloomberg reports.The bill would require auto and tire makers to report all incidents in which there is a pattern of accidents or lawsuits linked to a defect, and sets criminal penalties of up to 15 years in prison or fines of up to $50,000 for fatalities linked to such defects, the report said.
The legislation also creates a worldwide network for reporting defect-related problems occuring outside the United States, such as the tire failures in the Middle East that were linked to Bridgestone and Ford Motor Co., according to Bloomberg. Transport Topics
L.A. Transit Talks Resume as Strike Begins to Affect Businesses
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the United Transportation Union, which represents 4,400 striking MTA drivers, met Tuesday, agreeing on nothing but to meet again Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reported.As the strike continues, businesses - particularly those near bus routes - saw far less commercial activity than usual as the disruption kept both customers and workers away, the Times noted. Some shop owners said they were seeing only 50% of their normal business.
Traffic in this high-volume area was not unusually heavy, the California Highway Patrol and others told the Times, though other reports have said the extra vehicles on the road have added to rush-hour delays. Transport Topics
Spartech Says 4Q Will Fall Below Estimates
The slow truck market reared its ugly head again, this time blamed in part for expectations that plastics maker Spartech Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings will fall below analysts' estimates, Reuters reported.First Call/Thomson Financial estimates had put Spartech earnings for the fourth quarter at about 46 cents per share; the company said it expects earnings between 40-42 cents per share, the article said. Transport Topics
PACCAR Will Buy Back Stock
PACCAR, makers of Kenworth, Peterbilt, DAF and Foden trucks, announced that its board of directors has approved the purchase of up to two million shares of its outstanding stock.The company had 76,530,959 shares outstanding as of Sept. 18.
Any repurchased stock will be used for general corporate purposes, the company said. PACCAR bought back an additional two million shares earlier in the year. Transport Topics
Aether to Buy Motient's Transportation Unit for Truck Software
Aether Systems Inc. said it will spend $45 million to buy Motient Corp.'s transportation unit and gain that company's truck-related software products, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.Motient's software, such as the MobileMax and Pro2000, allow truckers to communicate and send truck information through a satellite and land networks, the article said. Aether will also pay $25 million over three years for the use of Motient's networks. Transport Topics
Arnold Logistics to Buy National Corporate Marketing
Arnold Logistics, part of the Arnold Industries family of companies, announced Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire National Corporate Marketing, a Texas-based company offering order fulfillment, distribution, direct mail and printing services.Arnold is a transporation and logistics holding company. It operates the regional, less-than-truckload carrier New Penn Motor Express, and the irregular-route and dedicated truckload carrier Arnold Transportation Services.
NCM will be merged with Arnold Logistics' Dallas-Fort Worth operations. Its current president, Wayne Norton, will become Arnold's vice president of southwest operations, while current NCM Executive Vice President Keith Gelles will become director of that same unit. Transport Topics
TradeOut Says It Sold Over 500 Used Vehicles for Penske
TradeOut, an e-marketplace for excess inventories, said Wednesday it has sold more than 500 used light- and medium-duty trucks valued at more than $6 million, during or as followup to an eight-day online sale for Penske Truck Leasing.The sale was used by more than 60 buyers, some of whom purchased up to 80 vehicles at once, TradeOut said. Transport Topics previously reported that 310 trucks sold in the on-line sale held Aug. 23-31, and others not sold then would be listed on TradeOut's Web site. TradeOut now says another 238 sold through the subsequent marketing.
"Selling the trucks online gives Penske access to buyers that the company was not able to reach in previous sales," said Tom Janowicz, Penske's general manager for e-lease/rental solutions. "TradeOut offers us a fresh business solution for the annual sale of a portion of our household moving fleet, and has created an additional channel for the sale of our off-lease assets." Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- CNF Expects Lower 3Q Earnings; USPS Will Pay Higher Rates
- White House Debate Seen Growing Over Oil Reserve Use
- Volvo May Sell Scania Stake to Volkswagen
- L.A., Long Beach Ports Were Hot Spots in August
- U.S. Agency Raises Death Toll Linked to Recalled Firestone Tires
- AMR's Air Cargo Unit Will Raise Fuel Surcharge
- Earthgrains Makes Progress, But Job Actions Go On at 26 Bakeries
- European Probe Wonders if Fuel Tax Concessions are Unfair
- DaimlerChrysler May Consider Bidding for Part of Daewoo
- Simon Transportation Transaction Complete
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