P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 20
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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oldings Ltd.
Freightliner Chooses ADP to Develop Web-Based System; Sign Letter of Intent for Freightliner's Next-Generation Dealer System
The Automatic Data Processing Inc. Dealer Services Group and Freightliner Corp. have inked a deal in which ADP will produce a dealer management system for dealers of Freightliner and Sterling trucks. The system will operate across the Web and work with Freightliner's PartsPro and ServicePro systems.
Appointment to the Board of Directors of Western Star Trucks Holdings Ltd.
Western Star Trucks Holdings' Board of Directors said Friday that Mark Lofthouse has been named to the board of directors. Lofthouse is director of the British Columbia Ministry of Employment and Investment's Finance and Project Evaluation Branch. The province holds preferred shares in Western Star and nominated Lofthouse to the board. Canada NewsWire (09/20/99)Market Drives Mack to Growth
Mack Trucks retail sales in the United States went up 20 percent for 1999's first seven months, and Paul Vikner, executive vice president of sales and marketing, says, "Sales in the heavy duty truck industry could reach 260,000 trucks — 25 percent better than any previous year in history."The company's market share also went up for the sixth year in a row, hitting 12.8 percent in 1998. For 1999 so far, the share has been 11.51 percent, but the company thinks that could go up with the end-of-year surge.
The company has been growing its payroll for the first time in two decades, with employment rising 20 percent in 1999's first seven months. The Winnsboro, S.C., factory, which makes the Vision truck, added a second shift last month. "Eighty-five trucks was the daily maximum for one shift. Now we're wrapping up at 115 to 118 per day," says Vikner.
Mack is also the only U.S. truck manufacturer to make engines and transmissions, and production has gone up at the Hagerstown, Md., powertrain plant. The company will up the plant's daily engine output from 194 to 212 this week. Vikner says the company is also able to find new employees despite low unemployment because "[w]e attract people who want to make careers here." Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) (09/19/99) P. D1; Shope, Dan
Here Come The Trucks
London, Ontario, is already passed by 7,700 trucks daily on Highway 401, but the truck volume is on the increase due to Nafta as well as U.S. trucks passing through from Detroit to Buffalo.
ntario Trucking Association President David Bradley says, "Given London's location and the growth of Nafta, it will become a major trucking center. We are expecting trade to double in about five years." That will be 1,500 heavy trucks in London every day about six years out, says David Leonhardt of the Canadian Automobile Association, if the current increase in trade with the United States keeps up.
The Fifth Wheel truck stop at Dorchester Road and Highway 401 recently saw a C$2.5 million expansion, and Flying J intends to put 15 new truck stops in Ontario. Also in the offing is a new truck stop in Woodstock. About 220,000 residents of Ontario work in the trucking industry, and the province's trucking industry is worth between C$12 billion and C$15 billion annually.
London's truck dealerships are experiencing increasing business as well, says Peterbilt Ontario President David Climie. Climie's is one of five London truck dealerships that have been or will be expanding. Nafta superhighway coalition President Paul Innes says one of the reasons behind growing truck volume is just-in-time supply schedules. Concerned about the danger of truck accidents, Innes' group is trying to get lawmakers to make the 401 into a road with four lanes in both directions.
Leonhardt of the CAA says, "We cannot get trucks off the highway but we have to make sure trucks accommodate other traffic. A separate truck lane, a major truck corridor, should not be that far off." London (Ontario) Free Press (09/18/99) P. D1; DeBono, Norman
Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. Announces Series of Appointments at Florida East Coast Railway Company and International Transit Inc.
Florida East Coast Industries has appointed Gene A. Tonsager, who lately was senior vice president - marketing and sales at Florida East Coast Railway Company, to the position of president of the trucking unit International Transit Inc. ITI's former President and CEO Richard Knock is now ITI's vice chairman."Dick Knock formed ITI in 1990 and built it into a strong, service-oriented carrier operating throughout the Southeast and Midwest with operating revenues of approximately $30 million. Dick has decided to retire earlier than planned," says Florida East Coast Industries Chairman, President, and CEO Robert W. Anestis. Anestis adds that "As a result of his previous positions with Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad, FECR, and Crowley Maritime Corporation, as well as a two year stint at Intermodal Transportation services ... [Tonsager] has a complete understanding of what it takes to meet the needs for comprehensive transportation services for today's businesses."
n addition, Reginald M. Thompson, formerly Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co., has been named Vice President - Marketing and Sales for FECR. Business Wire (09/17/99)
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