Hoffa Wins Third Term as Teamsters' President

James Hoffa was re-elected to another five-year term as head of the Teamsters union, winning about 60% of the vote, the union said on its website.

Hoffa’s new term begins in March 2012. Hoffa — the son of legendary Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa — was first elected Teamster president in December 1998.

Two challengers, Fred Gegare and Sandy Pope, split the rest of the votes. Hoffa, 70, was previously elected to five-year terms in 2001 and 2006.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with 1.4 million members, represents truck drivers and warehouse workers.

Hoffa claimed credit for the Teamsters’ agreement to wage and pension cuts that prevented a potential bankruptcy filing at less-than-truckload carrier YRC Worldwide.

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Intermodal Volume Rises 1.4% in Third Quarter

Bruce Harmon/Trans Pixs

Intermodal traffic volume rose 1.4% in the third quarter, the seventh straight quarter of year-over-year gains, the Intermodal Association of North America said.

Domestic container volume climbed 9%, the strongest increase of the year, to 1.27 million units, while trailer volume dipped 0.8% to about 425,000 units, IANA said in a statement.

While rising diesel prices drove freight to trailers during the first half of the year, diesel prices began a decline in the third quarter which may have contributed to the decline in trailer activity in rail service, IANA said.

International container volume declined 2.6% in the quarter to 1.96 million units, IANA said.

Railroad volume is considered an important economic indicator. Intermodal traffic, which tends to be higher-valued merchandise than bulk commodities, uses trains for the long haul and trucks for the shorter distance at either end of the trip.

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Productivity Rises in Third Quarter

U.S. workers’ productivity increased in the third quarter and labor costs declined, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The 3.1% increase in productivity followed a revised 0.1% dip the previous three months that was previously reported as a 0.7% decline.

Productivity is a measure of how much an employee produces for every hour of work.

Economists had forecast a 3% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Labor costs fell 2.4% after a revised 2.8% gain in the previous quarter that was originally reported as a 3.3% rise.

When worker efficiency improves at a slower pace and labor becomes more expensive, companies may raise prices in order to guard their profits, contributing to more rapid inflation.

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