Tropical Storm Helene caused some temporary production halts at Texaco and Shell's oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, as workers were evacuated in the face of the oncoming storm, Reuters reported Friday.

Workers had been evacuated Thursday, but began making their way back to the platforms Friday. A Texaco spokesman said the temporary shutdown affected just over 20,000 barrels per day of oil and about 13.6 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, and the company hoped to bring the lost production back on line by the end of the day Friday, the article said. Shell did not mention how much oil or gas was affected.

The Gulf of Mexico is the United States' most productive region for oil and natural gas, accounting for approxmitely one-fourth of total domestic production of both, Reuters said. This was the second large storm in a week to affect the region. Transport Topics

CSX Completes CTI Logistics Sale

CSX Corp. announced Friday it has completed the sale of its CTI Logistx division to TNT Post Group, for $650 million in cash.

Richmond, Va.-based CSX Corp. operates a major eastern U.S. rail network, and offers other freight transportation services through subsidiaries CSX Intermodal, CSX Lines (domestic container shipping) and CSX World Terminals (international terminal management). Transport Topics

Germany Agrees to Provide Fuel-Tax Relief, But Not for Trucking

The German government has agreed to measures that will provide relief for the poor and commuters, but not for the trucking companies, farmers and taxi drivers - who have been protesting high fuel taxes, Bloomberg reports.

The measures, which Finance Minister Hans Eichel said the government will try to quickly implement, will pay one-time subsidies to the poor for heating oil costs and will offer tax breaks for anyone commuting to work by any means, the article said.

Transport companies, meanwhile, continue to plan on a Sept. 26 demonstration in Berlin as an effort to urge the government to offer them tax breaks as the French and Dutch have, according to Bloomberg. Transport Topics

GM, Renault Team Up on Commercial Van, Hope to Boost European Sales

General Motors and Renault hope their jointly developed commercial van will help increase their European sales in that market, Bloomberg said Friday.

Renault will sell the van as the Trafic while GM's version will be the Vivaro, Bloomberg reported.

The vans will be available in long- or short-wheelbase versions, and with a choice between Renault-developed turbo-charged 2.0-liter diesel or 2.0-liter gasoline engines; a 2.5-liter diesel will also be made available later, the article said.

The companies hope to sell 120,000 vans annually by 2002, according to Bloomberg. Transport Topics

Summers: Oil Prices Put U.S. Economy at Risk

U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said Friday the recent surge in oil prices pose a definite risk to the U.S. economy, Bloomberg reported.

Summers said in a Treasury Department news conference that possible disruptions from lagging inventories threaten consumers, the article said. He encouraged policymakers to think carefully of a response that would enhance stability in fuel prices, Bloomberg said.

Summers also said President Clinton is still considering options to deal with the crisis, including tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move encouraged by Vice President Al Gore and others including the trucking industry. A decision should come in the next few days, news agencies say. Transport Topics

House-Senate Panel to Huddle Next Week on Transport Bill

The most controversial issue affecting commercial truck operations in pending U.S. legislation could be decided early next week, when the drivers' hours-of-service rulemaking comes up for discussion between House and Senate conferees.

That panel could meet Monday or Tuesday to reconcile their transportation appropriations bills for next year, said a spokesman for the House Committee on Appropriations.

The Senate bill would ban funding the Transportation Department's plan to set new rules for drivers' hours. The House version does not address the issue. The Senate bill also ties state funding to highway construction to state enforcement of a new, tougher standard for blood-alcohol levels.

The hours rulemaking has been the focus of repeated attacks since it was issued on April 25. This affects several million truck drivers and more than 400,000 carriers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has extended its comment on the rule until Dec. 15. The agency is to begin the first of three roundtable discussions about the proposed rules on Monday. John Wislocki, Transport Topics

Earthgrains Reaches Tentative Agreement With Union

The Earthgrains Company, the second-largest U.S. breadmaker, announced Friday it has reached a tentative agreement the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, which should end an almost month-long strike.

Picket lines at 26 Earthgrains bakeries will be suspended immediately after ratification of the agreement, which is scheduled for vote by Fort Payne, Ala., employees Friday afternoon.

Only two bakeries had to halt production during the strike and service was not interrupted to any markets, Earthgrains said. Transport Topics

Professional Transportation Group, U.S. Trucking Call Off Merger Talks

Professional Transportation Group, Ltd., and U.S. Trucking Inc. announced Friday that their respective boards of directors have terminated discussions of a merger between the two companies.

Professional Transportation Group, located in Marietta, Ga., offers ground transportation and logistics services for the airfreight and trucking industries through its subsidiary, Timely Transportation, Inc. U.S. Trucking is headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. and provides over-the-road, intermodal and third-party logistics services through subsidiaries Gulf Northern Transport, Inc., UST Logistics and ProStar Inc.

Emery Pilots Ratify Collective Bargaining Agreement

Emery Worldwide Airlines pilots have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement with the company by a 75% vote, the Journal of Commerce Online reported Friday.

The agreement is for four years and gives the pilots hourly pay increases, improved working conditions, job protections and enhanced benefits, the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the Emery pilots, told the JoC. Transport Topics

U.S. Agency Targets Truck Firms Over Fine Nonpayment

The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said this week it would soon go after trucking operators that are in arrears on paying fines for violating federal safety rules.

Motor carriers could be shut down by the FMCSA and have their registrations lifted, if they do not either pay off the fines or pay installments on time.

Outstanding claims have been rising over four years, reaching $5.4 million last year, the agency noted. It said one carrier still operates while owing $126,653 in fines from 1995.

The FMCSA hopes its new collection rule will go into effect on Dec. 9. It rule would ban delinquent carriers from engaging in interstate commerce on the 91st day after due date of a payment. This would not apply to anyone unable to pay as a debtor in a case under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code.

The collection rule also applies to brokers and freight forwarders. Both act as third-party operatives in the freight business. John Wislocki, Transport Topics

Kmart Reaches Agreement With Warehouse Workers' Union

Kmart Corp. and the United Auto Workers, which represents the discount chain's warehouse workers, said they have reached a tentative labor agreement regarding employees at two distribution centers, Bloomberg reported Friday.

UAW warehouse workers at Kmart's Warren, Ohio and Morrisville, Pa. centers will vote to ratify the contract Sunday, the article said.

Both sides were involved in an all-night negotiations session to ward off a strike, which could have happened had an agreement not been reached by Friday night. The union had previously let a Sept. 15 strike deadline pass, the article said. Transport Topics

Ga. Officials Seeking Truckers Who May Be Holding Fraudulent CDLs

Georgia state and federal officials are looking for more than 520 truck and bus drivers who may be holding fraudulent commercial drivers' licenses, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Friday.

An independent driving examiner, using the address of a Georgia motel, created false test results for drivers in what officials called a "commercial drivers' license mill," the article said. Now officials have sent letters to those drivers' last known address, and they will then have to prove they legally obtained their licenses or take a state-administered road test in their respective vehicles, according to the newspaper. Drivers not responding within 30 days will lose their license but will not finish criminal charges, the article said. Transport Topics

Several Fla. Groups Opposed to Heavier Trucks

Florida law-enforcement officials and the AAA Auto Club South weighed in Thursday against a proposed new rule that would increase truck weights on certain roads from 80,000 pounds to 95,000, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

The proposal's opponents told Florida Gov. Jeb Bush that heavier trucks were a threat to safety and would cause more damage to road surfaces, the article said.

The heavier trucks would be diverted to state roads, including those in Tampa, Jackson-ville and Pensacola, because interstates have a strict weight limit. The Florida Department of Transportation, which proposed the rule, said it will allow the state's truckers to compete globally since international carriers can now use those roads by permit, the Times reported. Transport Topics

Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing

Oil Prices Dip Slightly on SPR Release Speculation
Canadian National Will Extend RoadRailer Service
Rollins Expects Lower 4Q Earnings
Major Industrial Nations Prop Euro Currency
Freightliner Goes Postal With New Contract
Memphis Airport Will Open New Runway
Teamsters Approve Purolator Deal
Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp. Warns on 3Q Outlook
Florida East Coast Expects Increased Profits

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