P.M. Executive Briefing - July 6
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Oil Price Falls Again On Supply Boost
The price of crude oil fell again Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, to below $30 a barrel, after reports had first seemed to stymie a new round of production increases but then later reports indicated the supply gains were on track.This all began late Monday, when oil giant Saudi Arabia said it was willing to increase daily output another 500,000 barrels to bring down prices. After falling through Wednesday, prices firmed at first Thursday amid signs that other oil producers might be slow to accept higher production levels, but a Reuters report from an a Persian Gulf source said that Saudi Arabia and other producers still plan to boost output in the next few days by 500,000 barrels, and that report was strong enough to not only push futures prices back down but also to be cited by rival services such as Bloomberg.
Prices of fuel at the pump, both diesel and gasoline, had already been falling before the Saudi news, in the wake of strong local, state and government actions to investigate possible price fixing and after Illinois suspended its state motor fuel taxes. Transport Topics staff
What's the Latest Read on the U.S. Factory Sector?
Mixed readings continue about the health of the U.S. manufacturing sector, a major customer base for the trucking industry. The U.S. Commerce Dept. today said factory orders rose 4.1% in May, the strongest since the end of 1992, led by a big jump in electronics. However, early this week the nation's factory purchasing managers reported that their latest activity index was down again in the latest month, as it had been during the period that covered today's upbeat factory production news.Such mixed signals often occur when the economy is shifting gears or sorting out its direction, and recent economic news has included many signs of slower growth even though the basic commercial health remains intact. Also today, major retailers reported June sales that were weaker than expected. Transport Topics staff
Bering Truck Still The One And Only For Hyundai
Front Royal, Va.-based Bering Truck Corp. will remain the exclusive U.S. distributor of Hyundai Motor Co. commercial trucks, it was announced today, squelching reports that DaimlerChrysler's Freightliner and Sterling units would handle the U.S. market for the Korean auto manufacturer.Reaffirming Bering Truck as its distributor came out of a July 1 meeting in Korea between senior executives from Bering and Hyundai. However, Hyundai did recently announce a "strategic alliance" with DaimlerChrysler, which includes a commercial vehicle joint venture. That will not affect the Hyundai–Bering relationship, officials said.
"We are working closely with Bering to help them prepare new products in the future,'' said Hyundai's President D.J. Kim.
In addition to its distribution business with Hyundai, Bering Truck is completing a manufacturing and assembly facility in Front Royal with a planned capacity of 20,000 vehicles a year. Transport Topics staff
Celadon's Truckers B2B, NTE Strike e-Business
Celadon Group today said its Truckers B2B majority-owned subsidiary completed an agreement with the National Transportation Exchange to provide Truckers B2B members with an Internet-based transportation trading exchange. Truckers B2B matches small and medium-sized trucking companies with vendors who offer discounts and rebates for a broad range of supplies and services.With NTE's real-time exchange, available in the next 30 days, members of Truckers B2B should be able to improve their ability to sell ground transportation capacity, the announcement said. NTE is privately held and based in suburban Chicago. Transport Topics staff
arts Manufactures Meritor And Arvin MergeMeritor Automotive Inc., the world's largest maker of heavy-truck axles, will merge with Arvin Industries Inc., Bloomberg reported today.
Shareholder for both companies approved the merger, which will form an auto-parts maker capable of $7.5 billion in sales. Where Meritor also produces suspension parts, Arvin is the second largest maker of shock absorbers and exhaust systems.
There will be an estimated 36,500 employees in the ArvinMeritor company with nearly 120 plants throughout the world. Transport Topics staff
Chicago Area Still Burning over Gas Prices
The great gasoline price bulge of this summer is still spreading fallout in the Chicago area. The Chicago Tribune reports that a Cook County judge has ordered six gasoline companies to keep their price records back to April, for a lawsuit accusing them of price gouging.The paper also noted that Chicago motorists pay about 25 cents a gallon more for gasoline than drivers in the rest of the country. And the ripple effect has now spread to cab drivers and their customers, as Chicago cabbies have officially asked the city council for a fare hike, and a hearing on it will take place next week.
Prices at the pump have already been going down, in Chicago and other parts of Illinois, as the state has suspended its motor fuel taxes effective July 1 and as the Federal Trade Commission has begun investigating fuel prices. Further price declines are likely as oil-producing nations have said this week that they will edge up daily production enough to cut the world price of crude oil.
But the price declines came too late to head off some legal actions. The Tribune story said the Cook County lawsuit lists six oil companies – Shell, Amoco, Mobil, Citgo, Clark Oil and Phillips Petroleum – as having unjustifiably raised prices in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. Transport Topics staff
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