Itron inks deal for meter reading

Spokane-based Itron Inc. announced Tuesday that the company signed a contract valued at between $50 million and $60 million to provide automated meter-reading technology for more than 1 million Southwest Gas Corp. meters in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Tucson, Ariz.

The three-year contract calls for Itron to supply Southwest Gas with products, computer software and project-management and installation services, according to an Itron press release.

Southwest Gas already has automated hundreds of thousands of meters in its service area using Itron technology. The company started by automating meters in difficult-to-reach areas, such as Lake Tahoe, where snow typically buries meters during the winter, the press release said. Now the company is expanding use of Itron technology to the three largest cities it serves.

Long Beach, Calif.

Port ready for record trade level

The U.S. can expect record levels of cargo from Asia this year, but the nation’s largest port complex should be able to handle the volume without major disruptions, a panel of shipping industry experts said Tuesday.

The panel of executives from ocean shipping lines, terminals, trucking firms, railways and labor struck a mostly positive note in presenting its outlook for the peak cargo season from late spring to October.

“Were going to be hitting new record levels of trade in a few months as we enter the peak season,” said Paul Bingham, an economist with the research firm Global Insight Inc. “But we don’t expect any significant disruption in 2006.”

Cargo levels have boomed during the past decade as Asian economies became key manufacturing centers for U.S. companies.

Washington

Credit card delinquencies fall

The number of consumers behind on their credit card bills, after hitting an all-time high a year ago, declined in the final three months of 2005.

The American Bankers Association reported Tuesday that the percentage of credit card accounts 30 or more days past due slipped to 4.27 percent in the October-December quarter.

That was down from 4.74 percent in the July-September quarter. That level had in turn been an improvement from a record high of 4.81 percent set in the April-June quarter of 2005.

New York

Phone group says cable ads refused

The U.S. Telecom Association, which represents phone companies, is complaining to regulators that cable companies are refusing to air ads promoting laws that would make it easier for phone companies to introduce TV service.

In a letter submitted late Monday to the Federal Communications Commission, the USTelecom said paid advertising had been declined by cable companies in New Jersey, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana and Kentucky.

Darcy Rudnay, a Comcast spokeswoman, said it is industry practice to reject ads with false messages.