News Briefs - July 2
The Latest Headlines:
- Arkansas Working to Expand I-40
- Kenan Advantage Adds Klemm Tank Lines
- Construction Zones Becoming More Dangerous
- IEA's Mandil Says Oil Prices Hurting World Growth
- Job-Cut Announcements Fall in June
- Kenan Advantage Adds Klemm Tank Lines
Arkansas Working to Expand I-40
A section of Interstate 40 in Arkansas with the third-highest truck volume in the United States will be widened to six lanes, but work could cause delays for the next 2 1/2 years, the Associated Press reported Monday.The widening will be between the Interstate 430 interchange on the west side of Little Rock, Ark., and the interchange with Interstate 30 to the east. The latter interchange is one of the busiest in the state, with 114,000 vehicles per day passing, AP said.
Nineteen miles of I-40 in sections will be narrowed to one lane in both directions during the upcoming holiday weekend for construction work.
Only sections of the Pennsylvania and Ohio turnpikes have more daily truck traffic than I-40 between Memphis, Tenn., and Little Rock, Lane Kidd of the Arkansas Trucking Association told AP. Transport Topics
Kenan Advantage Adds Klemm Tank Lines
The nation’s largest hauler of petroleum products has bought a Green Bay, Wis.-based carrier that works mainly in that state and Illinois for an undisclosed price.The purchase of Klemm Tank Lines by the Kenan Advantage Group was completed June 30, according to KAG Vice President Bruce Blaise. Klemm President Greg J. Klimek and Vice President Jim Appleton will remain with the company they sold as paid managers, according to a July 1 statement from Kenan Advantage.
With headquarters in Canton, Ohio, Kenan Advantage is the product of the 2001 merger of Kenan Transport Co. of Chapel Hill, N.C., and the Advantage Management Group. The corporation had revenue of $269.2 million last year and specializes in transporting petroleum products in aluminum tank trucks.
Klemm is now the group’s eighth subsidiary. It joins Beneto Bulk Transport of West Sacramento, Calif., which was purchased by KAG June 2, and six other operating companies within the Kenan Advantage fold.
Blaise said KAG is trying to assemble a national truck network of transportation for petroleum products. Shippers see the same companies with which they have always done business, he said, but on the corporate level Blaise said the company is trying to develop economies of scale in purchasing, billing, insurance and technology. Jonathan S. Reiskin
Construction Zones Becoming More Dangerous
Driving through highway construction zones is likely to be more dangerous this summer due to budget cuts, repair schedules and heavier traffic, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 1,079 deaths in highway construction zones in 2001, up from 1,026 in 2000 and 693 in 1997. More than 80% of those fatalities were drivers and their passengers, NHTSA said.
An estimated 20% of the National Highway System will be under construction this summer, the Journal said, and more vehicles are expected on the road than ever before.
In addition, budget crunches are forcing many states to slash their patrol forces, meaning there are fewer state troopers to keep impatient drivers from speeding through construction zones, the article said. Transport Topics
IEA's Mandil Says Oil Prices Hurting World Growth
Claude Mandil, the head of the International Energy Agency, said Wednesday that current oil prices are partly to blame for sluggish world economic growth, Reuters reported.Mandil also said high prices could hurt OPEC, because it would lose market share to rival exporters while attempting to keep prices up.
Many economists estimate the marginal cost of world oil production is around $15 per barrel, almost half of current prices, Reuters said. OPEC countries need the extra $10 per barrel to fund their government finances, according to Reuters. Transport Topics
Job-Cut Announcements Fall in June
Large U.S. corporations announced 59,715 job cuts in June, the lowest number since November 2000, according to a survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.The June number from was down 37% when compared with the same month last year, and down 13% from May, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
If fewer people are losing their jobs, consumer spending would likely increase, thus providing business for truckers to deliver goods to stores.
The monthly report focuses only on job-cut announcements, not actual layoffs, and it doesn't take into account new hires or internal transfers at companies that have announced layoffs, AP noted. Transport Topics
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