UPS will offer less-than-truckload and some truckload operations if it successfully closes a planned acquisition of Overnite Corp. for $1.25 billion in cash. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, must be approved by regulators and Overnite’s shareholders. “We want to offer our customers the broadest portfolio of transportation and logistics services available from a single source,” said Mike Eskew, chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based UPS.
Yellow Roadway Corporation has completed its acquisition of USF Corp. With the $1.5 billion deal, Yellow Roadway generates more than $9 billion in revenue and has 70,000 employees. USF will join New Penn Motor Express to form YRC Regional Transportation, which will be based in Akron, Ohio, and headed by Jim Staley, former president of the Roadway Group.
Fatalities in accidents involving large trucks rose 3.7 percent in 2004 compared to 2003 for a total of 5,169, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. American Trucking Associations emphasized that according to both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, as many as 75 percent of fatal crashes begin with an error by the car driver.
Freight Transportation Services Index fell 1 percent to 129.5 in February from the January level of 130.9, U.S. Department of Transportation reported. The decline followed the biggest one-month gain since December 2003. The February 2005 level was 4.5 percent higher than the February 2004 level of 123.9. The index’s baseline year is 1996.
Despite a veto threat from the White House due to spending levels, the U.S. Senate last month passed a $295 billion highway bill by an overwhelming margin, sending the legislation to a negotiating committee of House and Senate leaders. The bill authorizes $11 billion more than the spending in the House version of the bill (H.R. 3). In late May, Congress extended the highway reauthorization act for 30 days. The six-year highway authorization originally expired in September 2003 and has been subject to a series of short-term extensions ever since.
The trucking industry won some significant battles in the Senate version of H.R. 3. For example, the Senate adopted an amendment that limits tolls on existing interstate highways to one single project – I-81 in Virginia. Although the trucking industry has resisted tolls on I-81, restricting the scope of tolls to that project alone would be a clear victory. The Senate also included a new $20 million grant program for training entry-level truck drivers, which had been requested by the American Trucking Associations.
And the Senate action also was notable for what did not happen. For example, one amendment had been filed to impose additional federal restrictions on states’ authority to increase truck size and weight limits. The amendment never was offered on the Senate floor, however.
