P.M. Executive Briefing - Sept. 6
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Mack Trucks Plans Second Week of Production Cuts
Mack Trucks, a unit of Renault SA, had already said it would halt output for heavy-duty trucks at three plants for one week starting Oct. 2; now the company is saying it will implement another week-long closure starting Oct. 28.The suspensions will affect 2,700 employees at plants in Macungie, Pa., Winnsboro, S.C. and Hagerstown, Md., a spokeswoman told Transport Topics.
Bloomberg on Wednesday carried a Stark's Truck and Off-Highway Ledger report that the Macungie plant for construction trucks might be closed two weeks in November and December as well as the first week of October. However, the company spokeswoman said the only suspensions planned for now are the two separate weeks next month for all three plants.
A decrease of truck sales in the North American market is responsible for the Mack shutdowns, as well as production halts by other manufacturers such as Freightliner, International and Paccar. Dan Lang, Transport Topics
Hayes Lemmerz Second Quarter Hit by Slow Truck Market
Hayes Lemmerz International said Wednesday its net income and earnings were down from 1999 levels in its second quarter that ended July 31, due mainly to the slumping North American truck market.Hayes Lemmerz supplies wheels, brakes, powertrain, suspension, structural and other lightweight components to the commercial vehicle and automobile markets.
Net income was down from $13.3 million in the same period last year to $6.5 million for the second quarter. Earnings per diluted share dropped from 44 cents in 1999 to 21 cents. Sales also decreased slightly, from $544.4 million to $542.8 million, the company said.
"Our second-quarter global OEM (original-equipment manfacturer) sales volumes continued to remain relatively strong," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ron Cucuz.
"However, our second-quarter earnings were below last year as we continued to be impacted by lower truck production in the U.S., and the euro devaluation. We have taken actions to reduce manpower and other costs in our heavy truck business, as well as to target incremental market share, to maintain margins." Transport Topics
Canada Plans to Update Security, Speed Traffic at U.S. Borders
The Canadian government will examine its shared borders with the United States as part of a modernization plan to increase security and speed the flow of traffic, The (Montreal) Gazette reported this week.The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency is seeking bidders to conduct a feasibility study on whether 42 of the smaller border crossings can handle the modernization plan, which will be rolled out by 2004, the newspaper said.
Most of those sites are 60 to 70 years old and are not equipped to handle more traffic and/or increased technology, according to The Gazette. Half of them are in Quebec and New Brunswick.
This latest action follows a general plan and commitment by Customs to upgrade technology for more efficient border crossings for trucks, which was outlined in its 1999 blueprint. Transport Topics
Neovation Develops Integrated Parts Management for Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks has chosen Neovation to integrate its parts management and ordering system, including chassis and part information dating back to 1966. Allentown, Pa.-based Mack is one of North America's largest producers of heavy-duty trucks.Mack said it hopes this will help tighten its relationship with the more than 270 dealers in its network, and be "the easiest truck original equipment manufacturer to work with."
According to Neovation, under its system dealers can easily locate parts, check inventory levels and compare price and availability of Mack parts with other vendors.
Reporting about returned parts is a piece of the system created by the Denver-based Neovation. Transport Topics
Two Truckers Wounded in Separate Incidents This Week
The long holiday weekend must not have been relaxing for some, as two truckers were wounded in separate attacks on the highways this week.A tractor-trailer passenger was shot as a sniper fired at four big rigs and a pickup in Arkansas Tuesday, the Associated Press reported out of North Little Rock. Meanwhile, a trucker was stabbed by another on Washington, D.C.'s Capital Beltway Wednesday, various news agencies reported.
In Tuesday's incident, a man from California received superficial wounds as a sniper opened fire at the five vehicles on Interstate 40 in the early morning hours, AP reported. I-40 is a major east-west route that runs through that city located just across the Arkansas River from the state capital of Little Rock.
Police said no immediate arrests were made, and none of the drivers could give details about the shooter's vehicle.
The stabbing early Wednesday morning near Silver Spring, Md. caused traffic backups on the beltway (Interstate 495) as a helicopter had to be called in to aid the stabbed trucker, AP reports.
Both drivers reportedly work for U.S. Freight Redstar and were apparently traveling together in separate rigs, MSNBC.com reported. The two trucks pulled over and a fight began; one driver then pulled out a knife and stabbed the other several times before driving off in his truck, the report said. A third driver from the company arrived on the scene and called for help, MSNBC.com said.
Later Wednesday, a Virginia State Police spokeswoman confirmed to several news sources that the suspect had been arrested after being pulled over in his truck on Interstate 95 south of Washington. Transport Topics
Dateline "Killing Field" Suit Finally Dead; Settlement Reached
The suit over NBC Dateline's TV story that called highways "the truckers killing field" has finally ended with an out-of-court settlement.Classic Carriers of Waterville, Maine settled with NBC on the remaining issues of its suit, according to a court filing reported by the Associated Press, but the settlement details are sealed.
The small trucking company had claimed NBC approached it, planning a "positive" story on trucking. Classic allowed reporters to follow one of its drivers on a trip.
But the story that aired focused on the dangers of tired drivers and drug use. During the program, Classic driver Peter Kennedy admitted falsifying his logbook. Classic said the footage was selectively edited.
Kennedy, along with the company's owners, was awarded more than half a million dollars by a Maine jury. The First Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the money damages and sent various issues back to U.S. District Court in Bangor. The settlement laid those claims to rest.
Jeff Johnson, Transport Topics
Colorado's Eisenhower Tunnel Gets Dusted
Workers have removed 40 cubic yards – 30 years' buildup – of dust deposits in the air ducts of the Eisenhower Tunnel, which runs through part of the Rocky Mountains on Interstate 70 west of Denver, the Associated Press reports.Officials ordered the cleanup out of concerned that 52 state transportation department workers housed in the tunnel offices might be breathing harmful particles, the article said. Another 20 cubic yards are expected to be cleaned out by the time the project is completed Sept. 26.
No employees have reported health problems related to the dust, AP reported.
During the project, traffic is closed to one lane so vacuum trucks can remove the dust from the chambers. Transport Topics
Headlines From Today's A.M. Briefing
- Diesel Skyrockets to Record High; California Sees 12-Cent Spike
- Volvo Talks With Mitsubishi Over Its Stake in Company
- French Trucker Protest Continues to Squeeze Fuel Supply
- Freightliner Notifies Customers of Brake Recall
- Oil Price Keeps Rising; OPEC Output Hike May Not Help
- Intermodal Facility Not Feasible for Arkansas, Study Shows
- Honeywell Will Sell Brake Materials Unit to Questor
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