Japan\'s anti-monopoly watchdog filed a criminal complaint against 11 leading machinery makers Tuesday, urging prosecutors to investigate them over alleged bid-rigging for construction of eight sewage plants ordered by local governments, officials said.The companies allegedly rigged bids in the projects in Osaka and seven other prefectures (states) in western Japan last year, by choosing in advance the winners and fixing bidding prices for the contracts, each worth 30 to 50 billion yen (US$269 million to $448 million; euro224 million to euro373 million), Fair Trade Commission spokesman Akinori Yamada said.The FTC singled out Kubota Corp., Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Kurita Water Industries Ltd., Ataka Construction & Engineering Co., Nishihara Environment Technology Inc., Ebara Corp., JFE Engineering Corp., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Hitachi Zosen Corp., Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. and Takuma Co.Hours later, Osaka prosecutors arrested seven officials from seven of the firms in connection with the alleged bids, said an Osaka… Continue reading
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued its final rule for miners exposed to diesel particulate matter (DPM) from diesel exhaust in underground metal and nonmetal mines.MSHA said the final rule phases in the DPM final limit of 160 micrograms of total carbon per cubic meter of air over a 2-year period, based on technological feasibility information in the record. On May 20, the first phase of the final limit of 308 micrograms of elemental carbon will become effective. On Jan. 20, 2007, the DPM limit will be reduced to 350 micrograms of total carbon per cubic meter of air. The final limit of 160 micrograms of total carbon per cubic meter of air will become effective on May 20, 2008. The ruling says the mine operators must continue to use engineering and administrative controls, supplemented by respiratory protection when needed, to reduce miners\' exposures… Continue reading
ASV, Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has approved the implementation of a share repurchase plan. Under this plan, ASV may repurchase up to $10 million of its common stock.The Company anticipates share purchases will be made from time to time, depending on market conditions. Shares may be purchased in the open market, including block purchases, or through privately negotiated transactions. The Company does not intend to repurchase any shares from directors, officers or other affiliates of the Company. The repurchase program does not obligate ASV to acquire any specific number of shares and may be discontinued at any time.Commenting on the repurchase program, ASV Chairman and CEO Gary Lemke stated, "Given the strong financial and cash position of the Company and the long term growth potential of the rubber track loader market, we believe our shares are undervalued in the marketplace. Because of this, we believe it is… Continue reading
"America\'s aging transportation infrastructure can\'t keep up with the pace of global commerce," says John Bowe, president of the Americas for global transportation provider APL and its sister company APL Logistics. "If it isn\'t overhauled, consumers and the U.S. economy will pay a steep price," he warns. Bowe recently spoke at a transportation symposium organized by the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics."The U.S. economy has been transformed by unprecedented growth in containerized imports," Bowe continues. "Growth in the transportation infrastructure hasn\'t kept pace. If we don\'t fix this, supply chains will bog down, consumer prices will go up and the economy will suffer."To address the problem, Bowe is calling for public-private collaboration leading to: a national freight policy; significant new investment in the U.S. rail network; and increased productivity at U.S. ports. He cautions, however, that government can\'t be counted on to pick up the massive cost of infrastructure improvement… Continue reading
India\'s Tata Motors Ltd. Said it plans to invest $76 million to more than triple capacity at its commercial vehicle plant in northern India. The plant at Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh state, has a capacity to make 30,000 medium and heavy trucks a year, which will be raised to about 100,000 units by March 2008. (Source: Diesel Progress)
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JLG Industries Inc. said it will begin shipments of Caterpillar-branded telehandlers to Cat\'s European dealers in August and to North American dealers in November. Last October, JLG and Cat announced a the 20-year strategic alliance agreement, in which JLG will provide exclusively to Caterpillar dealers a full line up of Cat branded telehandler products. "In addition to supporting the alliance agreement, the manufacturing realignment and capacity expansion also provides the additional capacity and flexibility required to better satisfy overall demand for JLG access equipment, as well as ongoing productivity improvement," JLG said.JLG had previously stated that it would support the North American and Latin American markets from its McConnellsburg, Pa. facility, and the markets in Europe and the rest of the world from its Maasmechelen, Belgium facility.(Source: Diesel Progress)
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Diamond Castle Holdings, a private equity firm, has acquired the assets of NES Rentals Holdings for $850 million including the assumption of certain liabilities. Under the terms of the agreement, Diamond Castle will acquire all of NES Rentals\' oustanding common stock for $18.75 per share in cash. The purchase price per share represents a 42-percent premium to the Company\'s closing price per share of $13.25 on January 12, 2006, the day on which the Company announced it would explore strategic alternatives. "After undergoing significant change in recent years, NES Rentals has emerged as a well-positioned and profitable business," says Andrew Studdert, NES chairman and CEO. "The progress we have made allowed us to be in a position to consider options to unlock the value of our Company." In December 2005, NES Rentals began reviewing strategic alternatives which included the option of selling the company. "When completed, this deal… Continue reading
Market access issues will be top of the agenda of the sixth round of free trade talks between China and Australia in September, said China\'s Vice-Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun on Friday. Substantial progress could be made during the talks that would focus on cargo trade and farm produce, said Yi. In the just-concluded fifth round of talks in Beijing, the two sides agreed on the basic framework of a China-Australia Free Trade Zone Agreement. The talks were initiated at the China-Australian Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in Sydney in May last year.(Soure: Xinhua)
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced details on its previously announced proposed a rule to regulate exhaust emissions from stationary internal combustion engines. EPA says these engines are used at facilities such as power plants and chemical and manufacturing plants to generate electricity, power pumps and compressors. They are also used in emergencies to produce electricity and pump water for flood and fire control. The regulations are part of a consent decree with Environmental Defense, which requires the EPA Administrator to complete a final rule by December 20, 2007. The proposed standards are in two parts. These two sets of regulations are being proposed under one notice of proposed rulemaking because the industries being addressed are practically identical, EPA said. The first part, known as New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), would limit emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) from new stationary spark… Continue reading
The profit of China\'s large scale industrial enterprises rose 22.1 percent from last year to 477.4 billion yuan (59.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of 2006, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The state-owned enterprises achieved 219.4 billion yuan (about 27 billion dollars) in profits, a rise of 11.5 percent. The profits of collectively-owned enterprises grew 31.3 percent to 14.3 billion yuan (about 1.79 billion dollars), while that of the privately-owned ones increased 47.2 percent to 64.4 billion yuan (about 8 billion dollars). The overseas-funded firms scored 137.4 billion yuan (about 17 billion dollars) in profits during the January-April period, up 25.1 percent from the same period a year earlier. Of China\'s 39 major industries, the profits of oil and gas exploration, non-ferrous metal, communication and electric power sectors grew by 52.6 percent, 98.5 percent, 88.9 percent and 59.3 percent, respectively, in the first four months… Continue reading
