P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 30
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Cummins CEO Henderson to Retire, and Solso Is Successor
The end of 1999 will see the retirement of Cummins Engine Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James A. Henderson, who will be replaced by Chief Operating Officer and President Theodore "Tim" Solso. During Henderson's five years at the top, Cummins has been beset by problems in the domestic farm-equipment business, the Asian economic troubles, and an engine-warranty plan that cost more than the company expected.As Solso takes over, the company is bracing for a potential weakening of the heavy-truck market. About 33 percent of Cummins profits come from engines for heavy trucks, and orders in that sector have already been slowing. However, Solso says, "I don't see anything that suggests the truck market is going to crater." Wall Street Journal (09/30/99) P. B4; Quintanilla, Carl
USA Truck Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire CCC Express
Arkansas-based USA Truck Inc. has signed a letter of intent for the planned purchase of most of the assets of medium-haul truckload carrier CARCO Carrier Corporation CARCO Carrier Corporation, also based in Arkansas, operates under the name CCC Express. Among the assets to be purchased are more than 1,500 tractors and trailers."The additional power equipment will allow us to expand our customer base, and the increased density of the equipment in our market area will enhance the services we provide to our existing customers," says USA Truck President and Chief Executive Officer Robert M. Powell. The tentative terms in the letter of intent have USA Truck paying roughly $30 million cash and taking on a maximum $7 million in term debt. Business Wire (09/30/99)
U.S. Xpress Sees Lower Q3 Assets
U.S. Xpress Enterprises says it will not meet analysts' projections for third-quarter earnings and revenues. The company anticipates per-share profits between 12 cents and 14 cents, not up to the 36 cent per-share consensus estimate from First Call/Thompson Financial. The year-earlier per-share figure was 39 cents. The company also says revenue will be up 20 percent from the year-earlier figure of $150.2 million. The company blamed the failure to meet expectations on inadequate tractor additions. Reuters (09/30/99)DOT/FHWA Report Operations Improved
The federal Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration put out data showing improvements in trucking safety since May, which saw the sketch of the DOT's safety action plan.Safety investigators at the Mexican border have increased from 13 to 40 and the May-August monthly average of compliance reviews rose to 695.2 from the January-April figure of 436.3. There has also been a decline in the enforcement-case backlog.
lso mentioned were the DOT's workshops for cutting truck- and bus-crash deaths and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Bureau of Transportation Statistics beginning improved collection of information about things that lead to truck accidents. Not mentioned were changes to hours of service rules. Land Line Magazine Online (09/30/99) ; Jones, Ruth
Maine Highway Would Be More Helpful to Canada Than U.S., Study Claims
A Maine Department of Transportation study indicates that the state's economy would not get a minority of the benefit from a highway that would run across the state from east to west; the highway would mostly help Canadians. There are other plans that would probably be better. Land Line Magazine Online (09/30/99) ; Cisper, JasonWork Starts on System Allowing Trucks to Bypass Port of Entry
Saskatchewan-based International Road Dynamics has begun to install a system that will weigh and identify trucks as they move, and keep roughly three out of ten truckers from having to go through the Lewiston, Idaho, Port of Entry. The state Transportation Department is using federal monies to buy the system, which department spokesman Mike Vogel says should be done in February. Associated Press (09/29/99)Transportation Labor Leaders Adopt Key Policy Positions at Annual Meeting of Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO
This year's AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department meeting saw heads of roughly 30 transportation industry unions okay positions on various issues. Among other things, TTD wants the current limits on Mexican motor carriers in the United States to be kept in place as well as a Congressional rejection of attempts to hold back the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from creating nationwide ergonomics rules.The TTD is also strongly against FedEx's efforts to be defined as an "express company" under federal labor law, which the TTD charges is an attempt on the company's part to keep ground-carrier workers from unionizing according to the National Labor Relations Act, which unlike the Railway Labor Act lets workers organize on an individual site basis. Other TTD positions were related to airline, air cargo, and mass-transit issues. U.S. Newswire (09/29/99)
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