News Briefs - Feb. 28
The Latest Headlines:
- Schneider Seeks to Add 100 Drivers in Midwest
- Canada's GDP Growth Cools to 1.7% in 4Q
- S&P Lowers Yellow Roadway Credit Rating on USF Deal
- Atlas Air Reports Drop in Revenue Ton-Miles
- East Coast Braces for Big Snowstorm
- Universal Cancels Stock Deal with Capitalliance
- New ϳԹ Sales Fall 9.2% in January
- Chicago Factory Index Rises in February
- Personal Spending Unchanged in January
- Gasoline Prices Rising Despite Strong Supply
- Canada's GDP Growth Cools to 1.7% in 4Q
Schneider Seeks to Add 100 Drivers in Midwest
Schneider National Inc. said Monday it hoped to add 100 drivers to the 45 already in place to support its “expanding” relationship with Guardian Industries, a glass manufacturer in DeWitt, Iowa.Schneider, the largest U.S. truckload company, said in a statement that it planned to hire the over-the-road drivers and owner-operators in March.
“The current shortage of drivers across the transportation industry, combined with the increase in Guardian and other customers’ overall outbound shipments, has prompted the need for a substantial increase in owner-operators and Specialized drivers in the region,” Rob Reich, vice president of enterprise recruiting at Schneider National, said in a statement.
Canada's GDP Growth Cools to 1.7% in 4Q
Canada’s economy cooled to a 1.7% annual rate of growth in the fourth quarter, the slowest in more than a year, as a stronger currency reduced exports, Bloomberg reported Monday.Canada’s economy, the world's eighth-largest, grew 0.2% in December and 2.8% for all of 2004, Bloomberg said, citing Statistics Canada.
The country's gross domestic product, the sum of goods and services produced, rose to an annualized C$1.14 trillion (about $926 billion) in October through December, Statistics Canada said.
The Canadian dollar rose to its highest level in more than a decade in November, prompting the Bank of Canada to slow its pace of interest-rate increases, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
S&P Lowers Yellow Roadway Credit Rating on USF Deal
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Monday gave Yellow Roadway Corp. a “BBB-“ corporate credit rating, which S&P said has negative implications.S&P’s CreditWatch announcement followed Yellow Roadway's announcement that it had agreed to acquire regional less-than-truckload carrier USF Corp. for $1.37 billion and assumption of debt.
The acquisition “will significantly increase [Yellow’s] market share and product offerings in the mature LTL trucking industry, but the acquisition-related debt and assumed USF debt will weaken somewhat Yellow Roadway's credit measures, which had been improving," said S&P credit analyst Kenneth L. Farer. Transport Topics
Atlas Air Reports Drop in Revenue Ton-Miles
Air cargo carrier Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings reported its block-hour activity for January increased 26.7%, while the average number of aircraft operated dropped 1.5%.Within the company’s scheduled service business segment, revenue ton-miles — revenue generated by carrying one ton of freight one mile — decreased 20.1% year-over-year, the company said. Capacity, measured in available ton-miles, decreased 30% year-over-year.
AAWW is the parent company of Atlas Air Inc. and Polar Air Cargo Inc., which together operate the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft, the company said. Transport Topics
East Coast Braces for Big Snowstorm
The mid-Atlantic and Northeast were bracing for a big snowstorm moving up the East Coast Monday, news services reported.New York City commuters were warned that snow could fall heavily beginning during the Monday evening rush hour and up to 8 inches was forecast for Philadelphia and Boston, the National Weather Service said.
The storm had already piled 8 inches of show Monday morning in the central Appalachians and storm warnings were posted as far north as Maine, the Associated Press reported.
Schools were closed because of slick roads and in anticipation of the storm’s snow accumulation in five Mid-Atlantic States, AP said. Transport Topics
Universal Cancels Stock Deal with Capitalliance
Universal Express Inc. said Monday it had formally notified Capitalliance of Capitalliance’s failure to meet deadlines for the contracts the two have signed and said it cancelled stock certificates previously issued.Universal Express and its subsidiaries “have yet to receive one cent of the $5 million of insurance credits contracted,” Universal’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Altomare said in a statement. “Those shares have now been cancelled,” he said.
The company had “previously given Capitalliance adequate notice to substantially progress or to complete their contractual obligations, and it has failed to perform these obligations,”
aid Chris Gunderson, Universal’s general counsel.
Universal Express owns and operates several subsidiaries, including a logistics unit that operates Virtual Bellhop and Luggage Express. Transport Topics
New ϳԹ Sales Fall 9.2% in January
New home sales fell 9.2% in January, the Commerce Department said Monday.The decline to a 1.106 million annual rate followed a revised 1.218 million rate in December, Commerce said.
Economists had forecast sales at a 1.125 million rate, Bloomberg reported. Sales fell in three of four U.S. regions.
Falling home sales likely means less business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials and dry vans that haul household appliances and furniture. Transport Topics
Chicago Factory Index Rises in February
The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Monday its manufacturing index rose to 62.7 in February from 62.4 in January.A reading above 50 indicates expansion. The index reached a 16-year high of 67.7 in October and February was the 22nd straight month of expansion.
Economists had forecast the index to fall to 60.5, Bloomberg reported.
The Chicago area is a center of U.S. manufacturing, which is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers. Transport Topics
Personal Spending Unchanged in January
Personal spending was unchanged in January after rising 0.8% in December, the Commerce Department said Monday.Economists had predicted a 0.1% spending increase, Bloomberg reported.
Personal incomes fell 2.3% after a record 3.7% rise that had reflected a large dividend payment by Microsoft Corp., news reports said.
An increase in consumer spending could increase demand for new factory goods and the trucking shipments that get them to stores. Transport Topics
Gasoline Prices Rising Despite Strong Supply
Higher crude oil prices are pushing gasoline prices higher even though refineries are reporting strong fuel supplies ahead of the summer driving season, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration expects the average price of gasoline could peak this spring near last year’s high of $2.06 a gallon, the paper reported.
Light sweet crude oil pushed past $52 a barrel Monday in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported. Last week it rose past $50 for the first time since October. Transport Topics