Teamsters back on Ford jobs | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal
Workers who load railcars with new vehicles are earning slightly less but still receiving the same health and pension benefits at the Louisville Assembly and Kentucky Truck plants.
A deal worked out by Teamsters Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman with Auto Port Ltd. has 435 Teamsters working for $17 and $18 an hour, instead of $20 to $22. Workers retained health and pension benefits worth roughly $500 a week, he said.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Car hauler: Strike may sink company
Car hauler: Strike may sink company: "Car hauler: Strike may sink company
Bankrupt PTS cuts pay 15%; Teamsters walk out
Louis Aguilar and David Shepardson / The Detroit News
A strike against the nation's No. 2 car hauler could force the company quickly out of business, the company's chief executive said Monday, a sentiment some striking Teamsters members said they were prepared to accept rather than take a temporary pay cut."
Bankrupt PTS cuts pay 15%; Teamsters walk out
Louis Aguilar and David Shepardson / The Detroit News
A strike against the nation's No. 2 car hauler could force the company quickly out of business, the company's chief executive said Monday, a sentiment some striking Teamsters members said they were prepared to accept rather than take a temporary pay cut."
Chrysler Asks Contractors to Cut Prices
Light & Medium Truck | Chrysler Asks Contractors to Cut Prices: "Chrysler Asks Contractors to Cut Prices
By Light & Medium Truck
Chrysler LLC told contractors including office-supply vendors and construction companies to accept a 5% price reduction that began June 1, Bloomberg News reported."
I haven't heard from anybody if this request includes auto transport companies hauling Chrysler product.
By Light & Medium Truck
Chrysler LLC told contractors including office-supply vendors and construction companies to accept a 5% price reduction that began June 1, Bloomberg News reported."
I haven't heard from anybody if this request includes auto transport companies hauling Chrysler product.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Union car haulers walk off job in 15 states - Forbes.com
Union car haulers walk off job in 15 states - Forbes.com: "Union car haulers walk off job in 15 states"
Teamsters strike against Allen Park car hauler
Teamsters strike against Allen Park car hauler: "Teamsters strike against Allen Park car hauler
The Detroit News
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent its members on strike at 9 this morning against the nation's No. 2 car hauler in the United States in a dispute over court-approved pay cuts and other contract issues.
The union is upset that Performance Transportation Services, which delivers 2.7 million vehicles a year including 10,400 vehicles a day for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., won federal bankruptcy court approval to immediately impose a 15 percent pay cut on 1,250 Teamster drivers through July 31."
OK-- if you are a secondary hauler for Toyota-- make sure you have some wheel straps. Your phone is about to ring.
The Detroit News
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent its members on strike at 9 this morning against the nation's No. 2 car hauler in the United States in a dispute over court-approved pay cuts and other contract issues.
The union is upset that Performance Transportation Services, which delivers 2.7 million vehicles a year including 10,400 vehicles a day for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., won federal bankruptcy court approval to immediately impose a 15 percent pay cut on 1,250 Teamster drivers through July 31."
OK-- if you are a secondary hauler for Toyota-- make sure you have some wheel straps. Your phone is about to ring.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Teamsters may strike at PTS
Teamsters may strike car hauler that cut pay: "Teamsters may strike car hauler that cut pay"
If you are listed with Toyota as a secondary supplier, you better make sure you've got your ratchet wheel straps ready to go or on order!
I remember a few years ago when Volkswagen of America dropped Allied and went with their secondaries. We sold out of wheel straps in about two hours.
If you are listed with Toyota as a secondary supplier, you better make sure you've got your ratchet wheel straps ready to go or on order!
I remember a few years ago when Volkswagen of America dropped Allied and went with their secondaries. We sold out of wheel straps in about two hours.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
GM truck plant closure points the way to a smaller future.
Bloomberg.com: Canada: "Truck output will end at plants in Oshawa, Ontario; Moraine, Ohio; Janesville, Wisconsin; and Toluca, Mexico. The factories produce models such as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra large pickups, TrailBlazer and Envoy SUVs and medium-duty trucks.
The plants will close in 2009 and 2010 and probably won't reopen, Wagoner said. They employ a total of 7,590 hourly and 676 salaried employees, the company said."
This is another sign of the times, just like the Suburbans you see on the side of the road with "For Sale" signs in the window.
The North American auto business is slowly but surely relocating to the southeastern United States. As GM and Ford shutter assembly plants in the midwest, and as foreign automakers break ground in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, auto manufacturing jobs, plus the machining jobs of suppliers, plus the jobs at the other end of the factory-- the auto transport work-- is slowly but surely moving to the Southeast where the land is plentiful and the unions are scarce.
If you read the article I've linked to, you will see that the head of the union in the near the Canadian plant slated for closure said that the union would fight GM on this.
Make no mistake: the current downturn in the business cycle is masking a broader structural shift in auto manufacturing, and by extension, auto transport. The old American behemoths, GM, Ford and Chrysler, can no longer compete effectively. They are hamstrung by their obligations to the Union-- paying insurance costs for widows who are living longer and longer and requiring more and more expensive medical care.
Even a financial genius would have had a hard time playing the hand that has been dealt to the big American automakers... but they have certainly been playing at a sub-genius level. Consider the fact that Ford virtually ceded the passenger car market to Toyota and Honda in the last decade. (Remember back in the nineties, when the Ford Taurus was the #1 selling car in America?) They basically just put granny on the iceberg in their rush to produce more F-150s, Explorers and Expeditions.
Well, you reap what you sow. As the world's emerging economies compete with the U.S. for commodities like oil and steel, don't expect fuel prices to go back down just because Americans start buying more fuel efficient cars from Kia, Hyundai, Toyota and Hyundai (and, occasionally, Ford, GM and Chrysler).
I think we can expect future business cycles to depart from the usual boom-bust cycle of past decades. It seems we have entered a period where energy prices will consume a much larger percentage of everyone's budget. Couple this with the rising US budget deficits and the rising costs of Medicare and Social Security as the baby boomers start to retire, and it is not hard to imagine a future in which the majority of car owners keep their vehicles for 10 years or more, because they're spending all their money on adult day care for their parents, $12 per gallon fuel and a 60% combined tax on their income.
The car haulers who stay busy will be the ones hauling tiny little electrics and hybrids made by Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda et. al. in the southeastern U.S.
The plants will close in 2009 and 2010 and probably won't reopen, Wagoner said. They employ a total of 7,590 hourly and 676 salaried employees, the company said."
This is another sign of the times, just like the Suburbans you see on the side of the road with "For Sale" signs in the window.
The North American auto business is slowly but surely relocating to the southeastern United States. As GM and Ford shutter assembly plants in the midwest, and as foreign automakers break ground in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, auto manufacturing jobs, plus the machining jobs of suppliers, plus the jobs at the other end of the factory-- the auto transport work-- is slowly but surely moving to the Southeast where the land is plentiful and the unions are scarce.
If you read the article I've linked to, you will see that the head of the union in the near the Canadian plant slated for closure said that the union would fight GM on this.
Make no mistake: the current downturn in the business cycle is masking a broader structural shift in auto manufacturing, and by extension, auto transport. The old American behemoths, GM, Ford and Chrysler, can no longer compete effectively. They are hamstrung by their obligations to the Union-- paying insurance costs for widows who are living longer and longer and requiring more and more expensive medical care.
Even a financial genius would have had a hard time playing the hand that has been dealt to the big American automakers... but they have certainly been playing at a sub-genius level. Consider the fact that Ford virtually ceded the passenger car market to Toyota and Honda in the last decade. (Remember back in the nineties, when the Ford Taurus was the #1 selling car in America?) They basically just put granny on the iceberg in their rush to produce more F-150s, Explorers and Expeditions.
Well, you reap what you sow. As the world's emerging economies compete with the U.S. for commodities like oil and steel, don't expect fuel prices to go back down just because Americans start buying more fuel efficient cars from Kia, Hyundai, Toyota and Hyundai (and, occasionally, Ford, GM and Chrysler).
I think we can expect future business cycles to depart from the usual boom-bust cycle of past decades. It seems we have entered a period where energy prices will consume a much larger percentage of everyone's budget. Couple this with the rising US budget deficits and the rising costs of Medicare and Social Security as the baby boomers start to retire, and it is not hard to imagine a future in which the majority of car owners keep their vehicles for 10 years or more, because they're spending all their money on adult day care for their parents, $12 per gallon fuel and a 60% combined tax on their income.
The car haulers who stay busy will be the ones hauling tiny little electrics and hybrids made by Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda et. al. in the southeastern U.S.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Mabro Auto Transport: SOLD!
Just found out about this deal today... apparently, Pasha has taken over Mabro. I knew that Pasha has a small fleet of trucks down in Huntington Beach, CA where they haul cars to be put on ships going to Hawaii-- but after a quick visit to their website, I see their operations cover quite a bit more ground than that. To see Pasha's automotive logistics locations, click here.
I wonder if this is just the first wave of new mergers and acquisitions as auto transport continues to get slammed by rising fuel prices and stagnant and declining load prices? In the current economic conditions, it seems that California houses aren't the only assets with "For Sale" signs in the front yard.
I wonder if this is just the first wave of new mergers and acquisitions as auto transport continues to get slammed by rising fuel prices and stagnant and declining load prices? In the current economic conditions, it seems that California houses aren't the only assets with "For Sale" signs in the front yard.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Car hauler wheel strap deals
For those of you thinking about ordering some ratchet wheel straps, they're on sale now at Autohauler Supply for $15.95. This is the best car hauler wheel strap deal out there that I know of.
Fuel Prices
Robert at Fast Line Auto Transport said one of his drivers paid $5.13 for fuel somewhere in New England. We were talking about the recent price increases in fuel, and he said that in past years, fuel cost was approximately 25% of revenue, in good times and in bad. He said now it's more like 50%. If fuel prices keep going up, they're going to need to come up with sky hooks or something to transport these vehicles!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Cottrell Lawsuit Update
Madison County Record | Stack allows Cottrell to go after defective idler supplier: "Georgia trailer maker Cottrell Inc., defending itself on an allegation that a defective idler caused a trucker's injury, claims to have discovered that it didn't provide or install the idler"
The Autohauler Shopper Forums • View topic - Sales & Service: The Best and the Worst
The Autohauler Shopper Forums • View topic - Sales & Service: The Best and the Worst: "Can't help but another BIG Kudos for Chris' Quality Welding in Fontana,Ca. second to NO ONE and Mid-western in kansas City, MO.....great work!! Chris has done almost a trick my truck kind of job on my headrack cuz an idiot that was not suppose to be driving hit me on the driver side causing me to jacknife..."
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Latest Cottrell Recall
Heard through the grapevine that Cottrell has a recall on one of their trailers, something about stress fractures on the front posts. Might want to check that out if you've got one and give them a call. Checked their website, but couldn't find any safety bulletin, so it might be something Cottrell is handling through the mail directly with owners who bought specific units. I think they're replacing 3/16" material with 1/4 inch or putting on an additional gusset or something.
Truck and Trailer Recalls - Lawyer and Attorney - Truck Accident
Truck and Trailer Recalls - Lawyer and Attorney - Truck Accident: "Cottrell Car Haul Trailer Recall: Risk of Roof Coming off of Trailer
Cottrell is recalling 68 MY 2002-2007 C-8ENC enclosed car haul trailers that are equipped with roofs that raise and lower. The roofs are attached to a raising/lowering mechanism by round tubes that are welded to the roof. There are 4 tubes welded to each roof and 2 roofs per each complete piece of equipment."
Cottrell is recalling 68 MY 2002-2007 C-8ENC enclosed car haul trailers that are equipped with roofs that raise and lower. The roofs are attached to a raising/lowering mechanism by round tubes that are welded to the roof. There are 4 tubes welded to each roof and 2 roofs per each complete piece of equipment."
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