News Briefs - Aug. 2
The Latest Headlines:
- Gasoline Prices Creeping Downward in Southwest
- Ariz. Highway May Add Lanes Near Tucson
- Personal Spending Rises in June
- Crude Oil Price Falls on Iraqi Overture to U.N.
- Waste Management 2Q Profits Rise
- Daimler Seeks Cost Cut at Mercedes Unit
- UPS to Match FedEx’s Money-Back Guarantee
- Intermodal Loadings Make 16th Straight Increase
- Ariz. Highway May Add Lanes Near Tucson
Gasoline Prices Creeping Downward in Southwest
Gasoline Prices Creeping Downward in SouthwestThe price of gasoline in the American Southwest continued to creep downward during the past week, reaching prices as low as $2.78 a gallon in Corpus Christi and San Antonio, Texas, according to Friday reports from Weekend Gasoline Watches in California and Texas.
A significant portion of commercial trucking runs on gasoline.
In Southern California, the lowest average price was $1.594 per gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area – down 1.1 cent from last week’s average.
However, the Southern California Club also reported a price of $1.445, down 0.7 cent from the previous week, in the Phoenix-Mesa area of Arizona.
Statewide, the average price in Texas was $1.33 a gallon, the same as the previous week.
"If the United States continues to see strong imports of oil this summer, prices should decline throughout the fall," said Rose Rougeau, spokesperson for AAA Texas. Transport Topics
( for the Automobile Club of California’s press release.)
( for the AAA Texas press release.)
Ariz. Highway May Add Lanes Near Tucson
Interstate 19 may be expanding to as many as 10 lanes in Tucson, Ariz. The Arizona Daily Star reported recently.The state's Department of Transportation said that traffic along I-19, currently no more than four lanes wide, could double or triple as it created a master plan of expanding the freeway through 2030, the paper said.
The preliminary plan calls for the widening off 24 miles of highway, with as many as 10 lanes to run through the city of Tucson, adding three new interchanges and rebuilding four existing ones, the paper reported.
Project Manager David Perkins said that forecasts for increased traffic between Mexico and the United States, particularly truck traffic, is making the expansion necessary, the paper said. Transport Topics
Personal Spending Rises in June
U.S. consumer spending increased slightly in June and personal incomes made their biggest positive move in two years, a report by the Commerce Department said Friday.Personal spending rose 0.5% during the sixth month of the year, buoyed by a 0.6% increase in personal incomes and increased auto sales as dealers returned to zero-interest financing, Bloomberg said.
Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the nation's economic activity and drives a good deal of the demand for trucking.
The increase in personal spending took the figure to an annual rate of $7.28 trillion in June, the report said. Transport Topics
Crude Oil Price Falls on Iraqi Overture to U.N.
The price of crude oil fell Friday, reacting to news that Iraq has invited the chief weapons monitor at the United Nations to Baghdad for talks, Bloomberg reported.The price of crude oil, which is refined into motor fuels used by trucks, like gasoline and diesel fuel, is very sensitive to political activities in the Middle East.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of oil for September delivery fell 19 cents, or 0.7%, to $26.28 in electronic trading, Bloomberg said.
Since the end of the Persian Gulf War, the U.N. and Iraq have played a cat-and-mouse game over weapons inspections in the country.
Observers feel that this overture may reduce the chance that the United States would invade the rogue Arab state, which would halt Iraqi shipments and push the price of crude up, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
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Waste Management 2Q Profits Rise
Houston-based Waste Management Inc., the nation's largest trash hauler, on Thursday reported net income for the second quarter of $217 million or 35 cents per share, compared with $191 million or 30 cents per share a year ago.The earnings, which came on revenues of $2.82 billion, were in line with expectations of analysts, the Associated Press reported.
The company, however, said despite a normal seasonal upturn in business from the first quarter, the increase in volumes it had expected did not materialize.
"In this slow economy, we have continued to focus on reducing costs and improving productivity," A. Maurice Myers, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said.
( for the full press release.)
Daimler Seeks Cost Cut at Mercedes Unit
A German newspaper says DaimlerChrysler AG is seeking a 5% cost reduction at its Mercedes-Benz truck unit, Bloomberg reported.DaimlerChrysler, based in Stuttgart, Germany, is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles.
The company's commercial vehicles unit had a second-quarter loss before interest and tax adjustments for one-items that totaled $6.9 million, Bloomberg said.
The paper said the company is negotiating with its works council on the method for carrying out the cost cuts. Transport Topics
UPS to Match FedEx’s Money-Back Guarantee
Package delivery company United Parcel Service said Wednesday it will begin offering a money-back guarantee on goods it ships to people’s homes via its truck network – matching a guarantee already offered by chief rival FedEx Corp., Bloomberg reported.The guarantee went into effect Thursday and covers all goods shipped in the 48 contiguous states to residential customers after a specific delivery date is promised by the company, Bloomberg said. About 15% of UPS’ U.S. sales come from residential deliveries.
On the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the U.S. and Canada, UPS and FedEx are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Transport Topics
Intermodal Loadings Make 16th Straight Increase
The number of intermodal rail loadings made last week in the United States rose for the 16th straight time, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.Intermodal is the segment of the railroad industry that competes most directly with long-haul trucking.
The total number of trailers and containers loaded for the week ended July 27 was 191,630 – up about 16,000 from the 175,879 the nation’s railroads handled last year – an increase of 9%, AAR said. Container loadings led the way with a 13.1% improvement over 2001’s results; trailer loadings once again lagged behind last year’s pace – this time by 1.5%. Transport Topics
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