“No one is going to vote against
you because you didn’t fix the
Highway Trust Fund.”

Con-way hired away YRC Worldwide’s CFO in a move considered a boost for Con-way while raising a red flag at YRC, according to one Wall Street analyst.

Stephen L. Bruffett had been CFO at YRC
almost a year before Con-way hired him Aug. 14.

“We believe the addition of Bruffett strengthens (Con-way’s) management team,” said Ed Wolfe of Wolfe Research. “ Conversely, we view Bruffet’s move from (YRC) with caution given our concerns with YRC’s charge-riddled income statements the past several years and its second CFO departure in less than a year.”

YRC’s chief accounting officer, Paul Liljegren, was named interim CFO.

C. Randall Mullett, vice president of government relations and public affairs, Con-way

Gemini Air Cargo’s four freighters are heading back to leasing companies after the airline failed to fly its way out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The abrupt grounding of the Dulles, Va., operator Aug. 12 came after Gemini entered bankruptcy protection two months ago for the second time in two years.

Gemini officials did not return calls for comment. The airline said on its Web site, “Gemini is in the process of permanently winding down its business. After Aug. 29, 2008, Gemini will no longer be receiving or responding to any inquiries via telephone contact.”

10Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama is calling for greater infrastructure investment as part of his presidential campaign, but with a scant record to go on much of the transportation world is still trying to figure out what policy paths an Obama administration would take. Businesses applaud the Democrat’s attention to the country’s crumbling infrastructure. But the candidate isn’t talking much about highway and bridge funding beyond his support for a National Infrastructure Bank, and many assume that means higher taxes would be on the table. The greater focus for transportation companies as they look at the direction of a potential Obama presidency may be in labor relations, where his support in the Senate for legislation favored by organized labor and his early endorsement by the Teamsters union makes many transport executives — especially in largely nonunion trucking — nervous. Some say it’s time for shippers to speak up if they want to be heard. “There is a lot at stake,” said Janet Kavinoky, director of transportation infrastructure for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “And at the same time, on some of the key questions, there is a lot yet unknown.”

Producer Inflation Climbs

Inflation worsened at the wholesale level in July as the government’s Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 1.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While the monthly increase was not as bad as the 1.8-percent jump in June or the 1.4-percent rise in May, the upward trend brought about the highest annual rate of inflation in 27 years.

Among prices for finished goods, the index for energy goods rose 3.1 percent in July following a 6-percent jump in June. Price increases for finished consumer foods also slowed, from 1.5 percent in June to 0.3 percent in July.

But core inflation of all prices other than fuel and food rose 0.7 percent in July after only a slight 0.2 percent increase in June.

14^F _s und fight. While lawmakers ay they support fixing the multi-billion-dollar gap in the Highway Trust Fund, getting it done is another matter. The House easily approved a measure that would restore $8 billion to the fund, but the Senate isn’t likely to make the move so easily.

makers often point to an estimate made by the American Society of Civil Engineers — $1.6 trillion over five years. However, ASCE says that figure also applies to projects outside transportation, making the exact figure somewhat less daunting.

15^N _t umbers game. When it comes o putting a dollar figure on how much it will take to repair U.S. transportation infrastructure, lobbyists and law-

16^D _p istributing direct. As shopers make more purchases online to avoid wasting gas on trips to the store, retailers are responding by shifting more to direct-to-consumer distribution centers. Direct distribution centers require

PRODUCER PRICE INDEX

Year-over-year percent change in the price index for finished goods

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%