News Briefs - Dec. 28
The Latest Headlines:
- UPS, FedEx Delivering Packages Delayed by Snow
- Asian Tsunami Not Seen Having Major Impact on U.S.
- Accuride to Merge With Transportation Technologies
- Census Bureau: 2003 Trucking Revenues Increase
- Paccar Workers at Truck Plant Accept Contract
- Asian Tsunami Not Seen Having Major Impact on U.S.
UPS, FedEx Delivering Packages Delayed by Snow
UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. said late Monday they were still clearing the backlog of Christmas shipments delayed by a winter storm throughout much of the United States, Bloomberg reported.Neither company said exactly how many packages were delayed, but said many would be delivered on Monday night, Bloomberg said. The companies eliminated refunds for any deliveries delayed by the storm.
UPS is ranked No. 1 and FedEx is No. 2 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Asian Tsunami Not Seen Having Major Impact on U.S.
Bill Anthony, a spokesman at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said that despite the deadly tsunamis in Asia this weekend, it was mostly "business as usual" at U.S. ports, the Associated Press reported.Anthony also said there could be a temporary slowdown if ships were rerouted, but he was not aware of any major disruption in international trade yet.
Similarly, economist Clifford Waldman told AP there would not likely be a major impact on U.S. manufacturers because the countries affected were not huge markets for U.S. manufacturers. However, he said there could be some transportation bottlenecks and uncertainties with orders and shipping in the weeks ahead, AP reported.
However, Sri Lanka, one of the countries hit by the a tsunami, is a big exporter of textiles and apparel to the United States, AP reported. Others countries including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand also export some goods to the United States. Transport Topics
Accuride to Merge With Transportation Technologies
Truck wheel maker Accuride Corp. said it signed an agreement to merge with Transportation Technologies Industries Inc., a manufacturer of truck components.Accuride Chief Executive Officer Terry Keating would lead the combined company, Accuride said in a statement.
The company said existing stockholders of Accuride will own 65% of the common stock of the combined entity, while the existing stockholders of TTI will own 35% of the common stock.
The transaction was expected to close in January, Accuride said. Transport Topics
Census Bureau: 2003 Trucking Revenues Increase
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that revenues for the trucking, warehousing and courier industries rose a combined 2.8% to $242 billion in 2003, from $235 billion a year earlier.Truck transportation rose 2.5% to $172 billion, the Census Bureau said in a statement. Courier and messenger revenues grew 2.8% to $54 billion, and warehousing and storage revenues jumped 5.8% to $16 billion.
The report also found that general freight trucking contributed about two-thirds of all trucking revenue, while trucks transporting specialized freight accounted for the remainder.
In addition, the bureau said local general freight trucking revenues grew 7.3% to $16 billion, and long-distance freight revenues increased 2% to $95 billion. Transport Topics
Paccar Workers at Truck Plant Accept Contract
Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union agreed to a 5-year contract at Paccar Inc.’s Ste. Therese, Quebec, medium-duty truck plant, the company said.Plant manager Gilles Gervais told Transport Topics the workers struck on Dec. 1 and the company then “decreed a work stoppage” that shut down the plant. He said negotiations to end the stoppage were completed Dec. 3.
The facility makes Class 6 and Class 7 trucks for Paccar’s two North American subsidiaries — Kenworth Truck Co. and Peterbilt Motors Co. — he said.
Gervais said the main issue had been contract duration. “Normally, the CAW has 3-year contracts. We requested a 5-year contract, and that was what was agreed to,” Gervais said. The union could not be reached for comment by press time. Transport Topics