Business briefs

2 appointed to Federal Reserve Bank’s N.O. branch
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s New Orleans Branch has two new members.
Art E. Favre, founder and president of Baton Rouge-based Performance Contractors Inc. since 1979, is filling an unexpired term ending Dec. 31. Fred T. Stimpson, III, chief executive officer of Mobile, Alabama-based Scotch Gulf Lumber Co., began his term Jan. 1 and it runs through Dec. 31, 2017.
Favre serves as director on LSU’s Construction Industry Advisory Council for the Department of Construction Management, the executive committee of the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council and secretary of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
Stimpson has served in his current position since 2009. He is a founding board member of the Coastal Land Trust and chairman of the Alabama Forestry Association.

U.S. rig count drops 29 to 1,811
HOUSTON (AP) — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. plummeted by 29 last week to 1,811.
The Houston firm said Monday in its weekly report that 1,482 rigs were exploring for oil and 328 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous. A year ago 1,751 rigs were active.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, none showed any gains.
Texas plunged by 12, California dropped by six, Colorado fell by three, Louisiana declined two and Alaska, Arkansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wyoming were down one apiece.
Kansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.

Automakers end 2014 strongly
DETROIT (AP) — Confident in the economy and cheered by cheap gas, Americans are likely to push new car sales to their highest level in a decade this year.
Analysts expect sales to reach 17 million for the first time since 2005. That’s close to the record of 17.3 million set in 2000.
Low gas prices are giving buyers more confidence, whether they’re buying their first subcompact or upgrading to a larger SUV. Gas prices started this year at an average of $2.23 per gallon, down 33 percent from the beginning of 2014, according to AAA. The Energy Department estimates that lower gasoline prices will save U.S. households $550 this year — about four months of lease payments on a 2014 Honda Civic.
Popular new vehicles, like the Jeep Cherokee and Subaru Outback, are also drawing buyers.
Sales have now grown for five consecutive years — a rarity in the volatile auto industry.
While sales are growing, the pace has slowed from double-digit increases in 2011 and 2012. That’s good news for buyers, who can expect to see bigger discounts in competitive segments like midsize cars as automakers fight to steal sales from each other.
For all of 2014, sales were up 6 percent to 16.5 million vehicles, according to Autodata Corp. That was the biggest year for the industry since 2006.
Back then — as now — the Ford F-Series was the country’s best-selling vehicle and the midsize Toyota Camry was the best-selling car. The top-selling SUV was the Ford Explorer, but it was only No. 14 among all vehicles sold, according to Ward’s AutoInfoBank. In 2014 two smaller SUVs — the Honda CR-V and the Ford Escape — cracked the top 10 in sales as customers turned away from small and midsize cars as car-like handling and low gas prices made such vehicles more appealing.

Initial unemployment claims fall
BATON ROUGE — The state labor department says first-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Dec. 27 decreased to 1,566 from the previous week’s total of 2,531.
For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 1,721 initial claims, officials said Monday.
The shorter work-week due to the Christmas holidays contributed to the over-the-week decrease in initial claims. Industries with the largest decreases were construction, accommodation and food services and administrative and waste services.
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, decreased to 2,350, from the previous week’s average of 2,383.
Continued unemployment claims for the week ending Dec. 27 decreased to 20,328 compared to 20,837 the previous week.
The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 20,520 from the previous week’s average of 20,327.

New Alexandria port director outlines goals
ALEXANDRIA (AP) — The new director of the Port of Alexandria says he plans to step up the port’s marketing efforts.
Blake Cooper, newly hired by the port’s Board of Commissioners, said his priorities also include expanding the port’s footprint in the Alexandria area.
Cooper replaces John Marzullo, who retired in July after two decades.
Several companies use the port on the Red River for storage and shipping operations. And the port recently landed its first manufacturing facility.
Cooper said new marketing efforts can make sure the facility is reaching the right industries and attracting the right mix of tenants.
“I see a real opportunity here,” said Cooper, who has spent the past several years working for Alexandria-based Martin Companies and has served as the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce’s governmental affairs chairman. “I feel positively we can build a first class port in the central part of the state. If I didn’t feel that way, I wouldn’t have taken the job.”
The port’s newest tenant is Crest Operations, which is leasing space at the port for fabrication, assembly and shipping operations for its subsidiary, DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations. Also, Cool Planet Energy Systems is expected to begin construction this year on its first commercial plant, which will convert woody biomass into transportation fuel.
“The port really has the opportunity to contribute to economic development wins, whether that’s on our property or not,” Cooper said.
Perhaps Cooper’s top priority is seeing the port move to a regional model.
Legislation has been drafted in the past, but never made it to a vote in the Legislature, that would expand the port from a footprint within the Alexandria city limits to one within Rapides Parish. That would open up land adjacent to the port and across the Red River for development.
“This benefits everyone. Maybe this legislative session we can come to some sort of agreement,” Cooper said.
Cooper’s other priorities include continuing efforts to deepen the river from a 9-foot to a 12-foot channel, to increase shipping traffic.
“We feel confident that Blake has the capacity to lead the port and, ultimately, make us a better port,” said Byron Salazar, president of the port’s Board of Commissioners. “With the ideal mix of vision and execution, Blake will be laser-focused on growth in our business model.”