What You Missed in the Biz Brief This Week: July 1, 2014

Truckstop Cashier Helps Rescue Kidnapping Victim and more...
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In today’s information-overloaded business world, we often find ourselves deluged with literally hundreds of news items from dozens of sources. While it is likely impossible to read every article and remain productive, by not doing so we risk missing the one article that could change a key business practice or thought process. And that is where the NATSO Foundation’s publication, Biz Brief, provides assistance! The NATSO Foundation's Biz Brief is a daily collection of the most relevant business intelligence for truckstop and travel plaza operators. 

While we think the Biz Brief is a must-read every day, if you only read ten news articles this week, these ten most-clicked Biz Brief articles are the ten to read. 

  1. Truckstop Cashier Helps Rescue Kidnapping Victim 
    Tiger Truck Stop cashier Fawn Domingue knew that she was looking at 16-year-old kidnapping victim Ashley Lyon as soon as she saw her. Hours before the kidnapper and his victim entered the Louisiana travel center, Domingue watched a Facebook video highlighting the kidnapping. The cashier contacted the local police, who apprehended the kidnapper following a high-speed chase on I-10. The young victim was held in captivity for 7 days. Click here to read more >

  2. Love's Lured to Alabama 
    The town of Prichard, Ala., has successfully attracted Love's Travel Stops to the area. Love's will build a facility on the 14-acre property at Exit 8 on I-65. The city provided a rebate of 2.5 cents per gallon of the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel for 16 years. The travel stop chain also will receive the total 5 cent per gallon tax for the first seven months of operation. The rebate will assist in constructing the infrastructure at the site. Click here to read more >
  3. Wages Affect Retention 
    Does it make sense for your employees to remain with your business? If your business is like many in the U.S., 50 percent of your teammates can earn more money by leaving your company. The average employee receives about a 1 percent increase after inflation each year. The average increase is just over 3 percent and the current rate of inflation is 2.1 percent. On the other hand, the average person who leaves a job for a new opportunity can expect to make 10 percent more as a result of the move. Click here to read more >

  4. President Partially Lifts Ban on Crude Exports 
    The Commerce Department has taken action to partially lift the 41-year ban on the export of unrefined, crude oil, which was imposed following the 1973 oil embargo. The recent Commerce Department ruling allows the export of only a certain "type of ultralight oil known as condensate to foreign buyers." This is seen as a preliminary step to allowing more exports. Some think this will cause an increase in U.S. product prices. Click here to read more >

  5. Texas Considers Taller Billboards 
    The state of Texas currently allows billboards that reach a height of 42.5 feet. Under a rule revision being considered by the Texas Transportation Commission, that allowable height may be increased to 65 feet. Advocates of the change said the increased height is necessary as a result of increased tree heights and 70 mile-per-hour speed limits. The change could provide additional opportunities for interstate businesses. Click here to read more >
  6. Travel Center Poses Food Challenge 
    The Midway Travel Plaza in Columbia, Mo., is offering a challenge to all comers to test the size of their appetites in the Big 70 Breakfast Challenge. For $20, you can take a stab at eating four slices of bacon, seven buttery biscuits and 70 ounces of creamy sausage gravy. Entrants will have one hour to meet the challenge, and the victors will be awarded several prizes including a place on Midway's Wall of Fame. The breakfast snack weighs in at 6.2 pounds. Click here to read more >

  7. Inside Baseball on Federal Fuel Tax Deliberations 
    Tom Sanderson, CEO of logistics firm Transplace, recently had the opportunity to participate in a U.S. Senate roundtable on transportation funding. His report detailing the dynamics of all of the components that go into this type of major legislation outlines the complexities involved. Participants in the meeting included key individuals from the transportation industry. Click here to read more >

  8. Empathy: Leadership's Most Important Skill 
    The ability to form a connection with your team and help them grow as people is a key trait for leaders. That is what makes empathy the most critical component of successful leadership. Many confuse empathy with sympathy, but empathy is the ability to understand another's needs, not necessarily agreeing with those needs. In the past, common practice indicated that employees were treated solely with results in mind with little regard to their private lives. And empathy can be learned by most leaders. Click here to read more >

  9. Indiana Toll Operator Struggles to Meet Obligations 
    Public-private partnerships nationwide are riddled with problems. The operator of the Indiana Toll Road, ITR Concession Co., owes $4.4 billion in debt on a toll road that is not meeting revenue expectations. Nearly $4 billion of the debt matures in 12 months. ITR purchased a 75-year lease from the state for $3.8 billion in 2006. If the company defaults on its loans, the road reverts back to state ownership. Click here to read more >

  10. ATA Tonnage Nears All-Time High 
    According to the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA’s) advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, May's reading is close to the highest level the index has seen. Truck tonnage grew by 1 percent in the month and hit 129.7 on the index. The highest reading of 131.0 was achieved in November of 2013. Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist, said, "It isn’t just heavy freight for sectors like tank truck and flatbed from energy and housing that are improving this year. Now, generic dry van trailer freight is doing better as well, which wasn’t the case in 2013. This is a good sign for the economy.” Click here to read more >

I might be biased, but I think if you aren't receiving Biz Brief, you are missing out! Not a subscriber? Be sure to submit a request to be added to the email list. Already receive it and have feedback for me? Be sure to email me at editor@natso.com.

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