LITTLE ROCK — Corps to adjust two lock closures daily
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that it will make daily adjustments to maintenance closure times for two locks, at Fort Smith and Ozark, on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System.
Since Oct. 1, the James W. Trimble Lock and Dam near Fort Smith and the Ozark-Jeta Taylor Lock and Dam in Ozark have closed daily from 8 a.m. to noon for scheduled maintenance.
Beginning Monday through Feb. 5, the Corps will test a flexible schedule based on the times commercial tows are expected to arrive, according to a news release.
Barge shippers should contact the locks on marine radio Channel 16 to confirm closure times. A recorded update is available at (479) 667-2120 for Ozark-Jeta Taylor and (479) 452-0488 for Trimble.
Daily closure times also will be posted on the Little Rock District's Facebook page at facebook.com/littlerockusace and on Twitter at twitter.com/#!/usacelittlerock .
- Lisa Hammersly
Fort Smith region slips in confidence
A survey of Fort Smith area residents reported a sharp decline in consumer confidence for the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a preliminary report issued Friday by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith’s Center for Business Research and Economic Development.
The Index of Consumer Sentiment for the Fort Smith metropolitan area was 52.2, down 14.7 percent from the third quarter’s 61.2. The results revealed “broad consumer pessimism regarding the regional and national economy when compared to last quarter,” the report said.
While regional sentiment “hasn’t been particularly strong before, it bordered on downright ugly this time,” center director Kermit Kuehn said in a news release.
An analysis of the survey, which was distributed to 3,250 area households, will be published in March in the Fort Smith Regional Economic Outlook Report.
- Lisa Hammersly
All Arkansas Index stocks gain for week
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 1.66 to 253.14 Friday.
Thirteen stocks advanced, two declined and one was unchanged. J.B.
Hunt Transport Services hit a 52-week high of $62.16 before closing at $61.88.
For the week, all 16 stocks gained ground.
Windstream rose 10.8 percent while Arkansas Best climbed 9.4 percent.
Volume on Friday was 23.2 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 24.6 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 25 on 01/05/2013