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The Latest Headlines:

• UAW Ratifies Navistar Pact
• Cummins Restates 3Q Earnings
• Crude Oil Drops to $25.44 a Barrel, Bloomberg Says
• FFEI Reports Improvement

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UAW Ratifies Navistar Pact

Members of the United Auto Workers Sunday ratified a new five-year contract with Navistar International, the truck manufacturer said.

The contract takes effect immediately and runs through Sept. 30, 2007. It was approved by 54%of the voting UAW members.

The UAW represents approximately 7,100 employees in manufacturing plants in Indianapolis, Ind., Melrose Park, Ill. and Springfield, Ohio; parts distribution centers in Atlanta, Baltimore and Dallas and the truck technical center in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Highlights of the contract include:

• Overtime flexibility.

• Shared health-care costs.

• Competitive new-hire package.

• Reduced costs associated with layoffs.

According to Dan C. Ustian, Navistar president, the new contract will provide a work force that is properly sized to meet industry demand and support the investments that have been made in the company's production facilities. It is anticipated that employee job protection will decline to approximately 3,500 by 2004, to ensure that the company is well positioned for the next downturn. Transport Topics

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Cummins Restates 3Q Earnings

Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. said Friday that it miscalculated its third-quarter net income, which should have been reported as 96 cents per share, not the $1 a share the company reported Oct. 17.

The company stressed that its earnings and cash flow projections for the fourth quarter and the full year 2002 remain as stated.

The company said it discovered the error while filing its Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Transport Topics

( for the full press release.)

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Crude Oil Drops to $25.44 a Barrel, Bloomberg Says

The biggest weekly decline since January left the international price of Brent crude oil at $25.44 a barrel on the London Exchange Sunday, Bloomberg reported.

Changes in the international price of oil eventually translate to changes in local prices.

Analysts told Bloomberg the lowering international price was a result of a more diplomatic tone from Washington concerning possible military action in Iraq. Another factor, Bloomberg said, was an increase in production by OPEC members. Transport Topics

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FFEI Reports Improvement

Frozen Food Express Industries, Inc. Friday reported net income for the third quarter of 2002 of $3,383,000, or 20 cents a share, compared to $277,000, or 2 cents a share for the same quarter of 2001.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2002 net income was $2,827,000 as compared to a net loss of $359,000 for the first nine months of 2001.

"We have continued to see demand for our services improve, especially in our full-truckload operations," said Stoney M. Stubbs Jr. chairman and chief executive officer.

Based in Dallas, FFEI is ranked No. 45 in the Transport Topics list of the 100 largest trucking Companies. Transport Topics

( for the full press release.)

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