News Briefs - Jan. 10
The Latest Headlines:
- Groups Seen Backing S.C. Fuel Taxes
- DOT to Cut Hazmat Fees
- EPA Unveils Emissions-Reduction Plans
- Crude Oil Price Higher On Supply Concerns
- Navistar Chair Horne’s Pay Rose 9.7% in 2002, SEC Filing Says
- DOT to Cut Hazmat Fees
Groups Seen Backing S.C. Fuel Taxes
A proposal by the Business Alliance for Transportation would add 5 cents a gallon to the cost of diesel fuel in South Carolina, The State in Columbia, S.C. reported Friday.A package of fuel taxes and fee increases would raise an additional $325 million per year for highway construction, the paper reported. In addition to the diesel tax increase, 8 cents would be added to the state’s gasoline tax, the paper reported.
Rick Todd, president of the South Carolina Trucking Association, said that he has persuaded members of the SCTA to support a 5-cent diesel tax hike, but nothing higher, the State reported. Transport Topics
DOT to Cut Hazmat Fees
The Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration has published a final rule lowering hazardous materials registration fees for large and small trucking companies, the American Trucking Associations said Thursday.The association said that the final rule was published in response to a lawsuit filed by ATA and 15 other trade associations. The groups sued claiming that the existing fees "were producing a large surplus that could not legally be spent upon the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Training Grant program." DOT had said it wanted to fund part of the program with these registration fees, ATA said.
The new fee structure, which will lower fees for "large" truckers to $300 per year from $2,000 and "small" truckers to $150 from $250 annually, will be in effect for three years starting March 3. Transport Topics
EPA Unveils Emissions-Reduction Plans
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it is working with several ground transportation companies on programs to reduce potentially harmful air pollution.The new voluntary effort, dubbed SmartWay Transport, was unveiled by EPA Administration Christie Whitman in Chicago, the agency said in a release. Under the plan, companies would voluntarily look to use new technologies and business practices to reduce potentially harmful emissions of greenhouse gasses, increase fuel economy and improve air quality, the agency said.
Among the methods recommended by the EPA are improving aerodynamics, better logistic planning, reduction of idling, proliferation of self-inflating tire systems and improved driver training, the agency's release said.
Included in the 13 companies that have already been approved as charter partners in the SmartWay Transport program are: FedEx Corp. Roadway Corp. Schneider National Inc., United Parcel Service Inc. and Yellow Transportation -- all listed in the top 10 of the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
Crude Oil Price Higher On Supply Concerns
The price of crude oil rose in trading early Friday, as traders were concerned that an expected OPEC production increase will come too late to ease a supply crunch, Bloomberg reported.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has said it will meet on Sunday to discuss a possible increase in oil production, but officials with the cartel told Bloomberg that any increase would likely not start until Feb. 1.
Analysts feel that by the time that increase is felt, it will be too late to curb a supply crunch and escalating prices. A recent report by the Department of Energy said U.S. inventories of crude oil were at their lowest point in 17 years.
The OPEC benchmark was above the cartel’s price target for the 17th day in a row, pushing the group closer to a production increase, Bloomberg said.
In the United States, the price of crude oil for February delivery rose 39 cents in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $32.38 a barrel, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
Navistar Chair Horne's Pay Rose 9.7% in 2002, SEC Filing Says
Navistar International Corp. raised the pay of Chairman John Horne by 9.7% in the fiscal year that ended Oct. 31, 2002, Bloomberg reported.Horne presided over a rough year for the truck maker, which saw losses widen in 2002 to $532 million, Bloomberg said.
The salary information was included in a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg reported.
Horne, who is also currently chief executive officer at Navistar, received more than $1.2 million in salary and other compensation as well as options to buy more than 400,000 shares of stock in the world’s fourth-largest truck manufacturer. Transport Topics