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Wall Street Journal reports on YRC,,,,,,,,,,,,
By ALEX ROTH
YRC Worldwide Inc. has decided against applying for federal bailout funds, a move the struggling trucking company was considering as a way to address pension problems.
Although YRC, one of the largest truckers in the U.S., won't submit an application with the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, it "remains focused on much-needed long-term pension reform," spokeswoman Suzanne Dawson said Friday.
In May, YRC's chief executive, William D. Zollars, said the Overland Park, Kan., company would apply for $1 billion in TARP funds, a move he described as a way to "get the conversation started" with federal officials about reducing the company's pension obligations.
Mr. Zollars has frequently complained about YRC's financial obligations under several multiemployer union pension funds, saying that roughly half of the company's contributions pay for retirees who never worked for YRC but rather for other companies that have since gone out of business. Over the next four years, YRC is obligated to pay $2 billion into the fund, according to Mr. Zollars.
On a video sent to YRC customers on Thursday, Mr. Zollars said YRC's pension obligations place the company at an "unfair disadvantage" with some of its competitors and that resolving the situation "requires some government help."
"Fixing the pension fund with the help of the federal government is what we're after," he said. "We're not asking for a bailout. We don't want any money from the federal government."
Mr. Zollars was unavailable to comment Friday. Ms. Dawson declined to specify exactly what federal remedies the company might be seeking.
In April, YRC reported a $415 million first-quarter loss, with a 30% drop in freight tonnage. Some customers fled amid fears about the company's financial health and its ability to smoothly merge its separate Yellow and Roadway brands. YRC has been working on the integration for several months.
YRC Worldwide Inc. has decided against applying for federal bailout funds, a move the struggling trucking company was considering as a way to address pension problems.
Although YRC, one of the largest truckers in the U.S., won't submit an application with the Treasury Department under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, it "remains focused on much-needed long-term pension reform," spokeswoman Suzanne Dawson said Friday.
In May, YRC's chief executive, William D. Zollars, said the Overland Park, Kan., company would apply for $1 billion in TARP funds, a move he described as a way to "get the conversation started" with federal officials about reducing the company's pension obligations.
Mr. Zollars has frequently complained about YRC's financial obligations under several multiemployer union pension funds, saying that roughly half of the company's contributions pay for retirees who never worked for YRC but rather for other companies that have since gone out of business. Over the next four years, YRC is obligated to pay $2 billion into the fund, according to Mr. Zollars.
On a video sent to YRC customers on Thursday, Mr. Zollars said YRC's pension obligations place the company at an "unfair disadvantage" with some of its competitors and that resolving the situation "requires some government help."
"Fixing the pension fund with the help of the federal government is what we're after," he said. "We're not asking for a bailout. We don't want any money from the federal government."
Mr. Zollars was unavailable to comment Friday. Ms. Dawson declined to specify exactly what federal remedies the company might be seeking.
In April, YRC reported a $415 million first-quarter loss, with a 30% drop in freight tonnage. Some customers fled amid fears about the company's financial health and its ability to smoothly merge its separate Yellow and Roadway brands. YRC has been working on the integration for several months.
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