Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/699972
12 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JULY 2016 JOURNAL NEWS • The U.S. Department of Transportation finalized a February- proposed expansion to the commercial freight zone at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in El Paso, Texas, following the opening of the new cross-border Tornillo- Guadalupe New International Bridge. The expanded zone includes the intersection of Interstate 10 with O.T. Smith Road and Texas Farm-to-Market Road 3380 and allows Mexican carriers an expanded area in which to deliver and pick up cross- border loads. • FedEx Corp. (CCJ Top 250, No. 2) finalized a $4.4 billion deal to acquire European carrier TNT Express. Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx announced the acquisition last April, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission stamped its approval on the deal in November, and other global entities signed off in the following months. Amsterdam/ Hoofddorp will be the European regional headquarters of the combined companies, and TNT Express' hub in Liege, Belgium, also will remain a sig- nificant location. • Schneider (CCJ Top 250, No. 8) pur- chased Missoula, Mont.-based less-than- truckload company Watkins & Shepard (No. 126) and final-mile delivery provider Lodeso; terms were not announced. Watkins, which specializes in difficult- to-handle shipments such as home furnishings and overdimensional goods, has 20 terminals and roughly 800 trucks and 2,000 trailers, while Michigan-based Lodeso has nearly 600 agents. Schneider, a Green Bay, Wis.-based truckload com- pany, said the acquisitions will comple- ment its Final Mile+ service. • Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Leslie Richards announced a state Autonomous Vehicles Testing Policy Task Force to help develop guidance for PennDOTto use when draft- ing autonomous vehicle policies. The agency will chair the task force, which is comprised of state, federal and private industry officials, including the Federal Highway Administration, AAA and Carnegie Mellon University. • The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will require certain employers to electronically provide injury and illness information they already must report on onsite OSHA Injury and Illness forms. As of Aug. 10, trucking and other certain high-risk industries with 20-249 employees must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A by July 1, 2017. • Truckers now need an appointment to pick up imported containers at Port of Oakland's largest marine termi- nal, Oakland International Container Terminal, to shorten waits. The terminal handles 67 percent of Oakland's con- tainer shipments, and import pickups represent the most time-consuming pro- cess at the facility. • REM Safe Technologies islooking for 50 truck drivers interested in participat- ing in a pilot proof-of-concept test of its Dynamic Assessment of Situation Awareness fatigue management sys- tem. The system uses the psychomotor vigilance task test, taken eight times throughout the first day on an operator's smartphone or tablet, to set a baseline for each individual's fatigue levels through- out a typical day. Tests will be taken less frequently thereafter. Go to Remsafetech. com/contact. INBRIEF 7/16 Navistar reports first profit in more than three years F or the first time since Troy Clarke launched his plan to return Navistar International Corp. to profitability more than three years ago, the company last month announced a positive quarterly net income – its first profitable quarter since the third quarter of 2012. The $4 million in reported quarterly earnings was up considerably from the $64 million net loss posted the same time last year. "Our performance this quarter begins to demonstrate the earnings potential of this company," said Clarke, president and chief execu- tive officer. "The fact that we earned a profit despite lower Class 8 truck volumes that impacted the entire industry underscores the tremen- dous progress we continue to make in managing our costs effectively and improving our operations." Revenues slid to $2.2 billion, down 18 percent, compared to $2.7 billion on lower truck sales in the U.S. and Canadian markets, softer industry conditions and the dis- continuation of the company's Blue Diamond Truck joint venture with Ford in mid-2015. Clarke said Navistar already has secured 70 percent of its antici- pated HX Series truck orders for this year, although second-quarter truck segment net sales fell 25 per- cent to $1.5 billion. The truck seg- ment loss narrowed to $23 million versus a loss of $51 million, driven by lower structural cost, improved mix, lower accelerated depreciation charges and other income. For the second half of 2016, Navistar lowered its sales forecast range by 20,000 units, blaming a weak market for Class 8 trucks. "While we were net income-positive in the second quarter, it will now be difficult for us to be profit- able for the entire year given the tougher-than-anticipated market conditions," Clarke said. "We are confident we will generate and implement additional performance improvements to partially offset current industry conditions." – Jason Cannon Navistar said it already has secured 70 percent of its anticipated HX Series truck orders for this year.