Company says there’s still time to consider alternatives: The chief executive of newly created shipbuilding contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. says the company is on schedule to close its Avondale shipyard in 2013, although he notes there’s time yet to consider other alternatives. CEO Mike Petters made the comments to reporters today at company headquarters in Newport News, Va. The company began trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. Huntington Ingalls is the product of a spin-off of defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. It owns shipyards in Avondale, Newport News and Pascagoula, Miss. Petters says keeping the Louisiana shipyard open would require a new, sustainable operating plan, about whose details he says he’s unsure.
Region including La. sees 6.8% drop: Highway deaths have plummeted to their lowest level in more than 60 years, the result in part of an increase in seat belt usage, better safety equipment in cars, and efforts to curb drunken driving. The Transportation Department estimated Friday that 32,788 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2010, a decrease of about 3% from 2009. It’s the fewest number of deaths since 1949—during the presidency of Harry Truman—when more than 30,000 people were killed. The Pacific Northwest region, which includes Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, saw fatalities fall 12%. The region that comprises Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico had a 6.8% drop.
