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Fresh off last week’s State of the Union Address, where President Joe Biden touted his administration’s historic investment in climate initiatives like electric vehicles, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Minnesota facility of bus manufacturer New Flyer of America on February 9, producers of the Xcelsior and Xcelsor CHARGE line of buses (including electric and hybrid). New Flyer is a division of the NFI Group, which is also the parent company of motorcoach manufacturer MCI.
Harris addressed a crowd of several hundred, including St. Cloud, Minnesota, Mayor Dave Kleis. Harris toured the assembly line where New Flyer’s most advanced e-bus, Xcelsior CHARGE NG, is produced, according to a release from the company. The Xcelsior CHARGE NG has already been adopted by numerous transit authorities across the country.
“Buses are our nation’s most popular form of public transportation,” she said to the crowd. “The electric buses being built in this factory are a model of American innovation and key to the future of public transportation. In 2009, then Vice President Joe Biden stood in this plant, when at the time you were building cutting-edge hybrid electric buses, and said, ‘NFI is an example of the future.’ A lot has changed in the last 14 years, but one thing has not; you are still an example of America’s future.”
Last year, the bipartisan infrastructure bill allocated billions over several years toward electric vehicles writ large, including e-buses. More recently, Harris has spoken about the availability of grants—more than $5 billion over the next five years--to allow school districts to switch over to electric buses.
“It was fantastic to host Vice President Harris at our New Flyer facility in Minnesota, providing us with an opportunity to showcase our incredible team, our facility, and our industry leading solutions. The benefits of the Biden Harris administration’s record investments in public transportation were on display as we walked our production floor and sat on buses destined for cities across America. We were also able to discuss opportunities for the administration to assist our manufacturing industry as we recover from the effects of global supply disruption and prolonged inflation,” said NFI President & CEO Paul Soubry.
NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind in the United States dedicated to advancing bus and coach zero-emission technology and workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, it has hosted over 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for zero-emission bus and infrastructure training, according to the company.
Visit newflyer.com for more information.
[02.14.23]
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Most Small Businesses Give Fed Government a Barely Passing Grade: American small businesses aren’t feeling the love from the Biden administration, according to a new survey from Goldman Sachs of nearly 2,000 small businesses across the Continental US. A whopping 93 percent of those small biz owners feel that Washington isn’t doing enough to prioritize their issues over those of big business, while 55 percent are worried about a recession in the next 12 months. Respondents also cite the difficulty in finding and retaining qualified employees as their top concern (35 percent), followed by inflation at 23 percent and affordable employee benefits at 13 percent. On a positive note, 68 percent rate the current economy as fair or better, and more than half expect to create new jobs in the coming months. The full report can be read here.
Source: Goldman Sachs
Delta to Offer Free Wi-Fi on All Flights: In an industry that is known for slashing perks and charging for every little thing that customers will reluctantly pay for, Delta is sharing some good news with its frequent fliers. By the end of this year, Delta hopes to have more than 700 of its aircraft equipped with free Wi-Fi, with full availability on international and regional aircraft by the end of 2024, according to an announcement from CEO Ed Bastian during the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show last month. The airline has partnered with T-Mobile to bring “an easy, seamless experience” to its passengers. While Wi-Fi has not always been reliable on flights, so far the reviews are mostly positive across the travel blogosphere. Passengers have to use or sign up for a free SkyMiles account to access the free perk. The only drawback now is you can longer use “airplane mode” as an excuse for not answering those texts and emails at 30,000 feet. On the flipside, your flight won’t likely be delayed due to some stubborn celebrity refusing to stow their phone. Ah, the peace and quiet was great while it lasted.
Sources: Delta, CNBC
Las Vegas Tourism Was on Fire in 2022: There’s no stopping a trip to Sin City! The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recently released its year-end report for 2022, noting that the city had a 38.3 million visitors, only about 4 percent below its 2019 high. Big spending—and winning—at casinos also boosted the state’s coffers as casino taxes equate to nearly 20 percent of the state’s total revenue. Additionally, convention attendance (like the upcoming 2023 CD/NLA Show this March 5-8!) was just below that of 2019 at 5 million (6.6 million in 2019). Hotel occupancy, building of additional state casinos, and sports betting was also up year over year. However, with such increased demand, officials are worried that a second airport might be needed, stat. Seeing a record 52.6 million passengers in 2022 at Harry Reid International Airport, with max volume expected to be reached by 2030, talks are for a new airfield about three dozen miles southwest of Reid near the California border along I-15. Another slated project—albeit with private funding—is a high-speed rail line connecting LA and Vegas, with construction expected to begin this year.
Sources: AP News, LVCVA, Brightline West
[02.07.23]
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January’s US jobs report was a stunner all around, shattering the expectations of economists nationwide. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 517,000 for the month, almost tripling the Dow Jones estimate of 187,000, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent, the lowest since May 1969 (before we walked on the moon!). Many economists were encouraged by the strong numbers in 2022 but predicted that a slowdown was ont he horizon, starting with the first month of 2023.
On February 3, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Leisure and hospitality added 128,000 jobs in January compared with an average of 89,000 jobs per month in 2022. As the chauffeured ground transportation industry can attest, leisure and hospitality was the hardest hit sector during the pandemic; however, in recent months, the sector has seen consistent growth, largely leading in gains month-over-month among other industries. However, despite the continual positive growth, according to the BLS, to date, employment in leisure and hospitality remains below its pre-pandemic February 2020 level by 495,000, or 2.9 percent. Other significant gainers were professional and business services (82,000), government (74,000), and health care (58,000). Retail was up 30,000 and construction added 25,000.
While hiring remains strong, the unexpected numbers complicate the job of the Federal Reserve to tamp down on high inflation. So far, the Fed has been using incremental increases in interest rates to try and cool off a super-heated economy, but with little effect. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has stated that additional rate hikes are expected this year, matching levels not seen since 2006 at around 5.1 percent--but nowhere near the double-digit rates of the '80s.
US Travel Association President & CEO Geoff Freeman is encouraged by sector’s gains: “[The report]—in which 25 percent of all new jobs were added in the leisure and hospitality sector—is further evidence that travel is essential to the U.S. economy. Travel’s success is the nation’s success, and robust travel demand is supercharging our nation’s economic recovery and job growth.”
The full report can be accessed by clicking here.
[02.07.23]