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 Prosecutors\’ Office official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official refused to disclose other details, including names of officials arrested.

"It is truly regrettable that our company faced a criminal accusation and an employee was arrested," Kubota said in a statement, referring to the arrest of Kenichi Terakawa, 59, a senior official of the Osaka-based company. The country\’s top maker of farm equipment, Kubota said it will fully cooperate with the investigation.

Ebara, a Tokyo-based major maker of industrial pumps, issued a similar statement. "We will take the situation seriously, and put together an organization to prevent anything similar from happening and thoroughly abiding by rules," Ebara said.

Ryuta Chisaka, an Ebara spokesman, confirmed that Masanori Hasegawa, 56, an Ebara senior official in charge of environmental business, was arrested.

The government plans to introduce stricter guidelines to prevent the widespread practice of bid-rigging, known as "dango," which foreign competitors say virtually shuts them out.

If convicted, individual violators of the anti-monopoly law face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million yen (US$44,800; euro37,300), and companies face a fine of up to 500 million yen (US$4.5 million; euro3.7 million).

(Source: Yahoo Finance)

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 to the prescribed limits, according to MSHA. Like the existing DPM limit, MSHA said it will enforce the final limits as permissible exposure limits (PEL).

The final rule, Diesel Particulate Matter Exposure of Underground Metal and Nonmetal Miners, is published in the Federal Register.

(Source: Diesel Progress)

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 in the best interest of our Company and shareholders to implement this stock repurchase plan."

The Company intends to fund the repurchases with available cash. The repurchase program is expected to be in effect through May 24, 2007, or until such amount of stock is repurchased.

About ASV

ASV designs, manufactures and sells rubber track loaders and related accessories, attachments and traction products. ASV also manufactures rubber track undercarriages, some of which are a primary component on Caterpillar\’s Multi Terrain Loaders. With its patented undercarriage technology, ASV leads all rubber track loaders in technology and innovation. ASV\’s products are able to traverse nearly any terrain with minimal damage to the ground, making them effective in industries such as construction, landscaping and agriculture. ASV\’s wholly-owned subsidiary Loegering Mfg. Inc. provides traction products and attachments for the skid-steer industry. For more information, visit ASV\’s website at www.asvi.com or Loegering\’s website at www.loegering.com.

(Source: Yahoo Finance)

"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. "The private sector will have to play a larger role," he says. "But we\’ll look to government to provide incentives that stimulate investment."

Containerized U.S. imports from Asia will grow by about 30% in the next three years, Bowe observes, but ports aren\’t improving productivity fast enough to keep pace and railroads aren\’t adding enough track, equipment or terminal capacity to handle the load.

"We\’ve worked with shippers on temporary solutions," Bowe points out. "We\’ve made better use of alternative U.S. gateway ports, we\’ve improved planning and forecasting, and we continue to work closely with our rail partners to manage through rail congestion. But there\’ll come a time in the not too distant future when even these measures won\’t be enough. We\’re pushing too much cargo through a pipeline that is not growing fast enough. Eventually it will be overwhelmed. We need to act now to prevent gridlock."

(Source: Logistics Today)

(Source: Diesel Progress)

"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)

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 will allow NES Rentals to continue to meet and exceed the high standards we\’ve established for customer service, quality equipment and financial growth." Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin each provided fairness opinions on the transaction to the Board of Directors.

The sale is expected to be completed in 60 days, contingent on closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, delivery of the committed financing, and the approval of NES Rentals\’ stockholders. NES Rentals has scheduled a special meeting of stockholders to vote on the proposed transaction that will be held on June 23, 2006. NES Rentals set a record date of May 26, 2006 for the special meeting.

Studdert will continue in his capacity as CEO and Chairman.

For more information visit www.nesrentals.com

(Source: AED)

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)

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 ignition internal combustion engines.

A new stationary spark ignition engine is one that is manufactured or ordered after the date this proposal is published in the Federal Register and manufactured after July 1, 2007, for engines greater than or equal to 500 horsepower, and after January 1, 2008, for engines less than 500 hp. Stationary spark ignition engines that are modified or rebuilt after those dates also are subject to the rule.

The second part, known as a technology-based the air toxics standard, would limit air toxics emissions from existing, new and reconstructed stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines that are located at area sources of air toxics emissions or that have a site rating of less than or equal to 500 hp and are located at major sources of air toxics emissions.

Owners/operators have several options to demonstrate compliance with the proposed rule. For the most part, owners/operators would purchase an engine certified for stationary use by the manufacturer. The proposal would also require owners/operators to operate and maintain the engine according to the manufacturer¡¯s instructions. If a non-certified engine is purchased, the owners or operators would need to perform emission testing to demonstrate compliance, EPA said.

The proposed rule can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3pfpr.html.

(Source: Diesel Progress)

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.

The profits of electronics and telecommunications and coal industry rose 30.7 percent and 9.8 percent.

However, the profits of the iron and steel and petrochemical sectors fell by 50.8 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

The oil processing industry reported losses totaling 15.6 billion yuan (about 1.95 billion dollars) in the first four months.

At the same time, the industrial enterprises gained 403.9 billion yuan (about 50 billion dollars) in taxes, an increase of 20 percent.

NBS statistics also showed the sales revenue of the industrial enterprises amounted to 8.6 trillion yuan in the period, up 25.5 percent.

(Source: Xinhua)