Truckers shut down Miami port, continued delays expected

Truckers shut down Miami port, continued delays expected    A work stoppage by independent truck drivers in the Port of Miami that began last Friday over pay and work conditions has virtually brought cargo to a halt and is not likely to be resolved until after the July 4 holiday, according to a top Florida executive in the import/export business.
   Charles Towsley, director of the port of Miami, called an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon to update port users on the protest and facilitate discussions between truckers and terminal operators who hire them. A representative for the owner-operators left the meeting apparently unsatisfied by proposals from terminal management, said Dante Versaci, president of the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association, who attended the meeting.
   Independent truck drivers, who move the bulk of the freight in the port, are upset about chronically low pay and slow turnaround times that limit the number of revenue-producing trips they can make per day. The drivers are small businessmen who own their rigs and hire themselves out to trucking companies, vessel operators and shippers who need their services. As in many ports, truckers are hesitant to give up the leverage of a protest because promises to improve and efficiency often get ignored once drivers go back to work.
   Scattered work slowdowns by small groups of wildcat truckers have been reported along with minimal delays at several Gulf and East coast ports, but truckers appear more unified in Miami.
   The port maintains that it is officially open for business, but not much cargo is moving. Trucking companies are not dispatching their own drivers to the port because they do not want to take the risk of losing a load, driver or truck if the protests get out of hand.
   The trucking companies that pay their owner-operators well “are not willing for fear of repercussions to send their trucks in,” said Versaci, who also is vice president of imports for Reilly Transportation Services Inc., a customs broker and freight forwarder.
   Seaboard Marine is the only terminal where cargo is moving, he said, because the steamship line has its own in-house trucking unit.
   With cargo stuck on the docks, shippers are racking up demurrage fees for not collecting their cargo and terminal operators are likely to charge truckers detention fees for not returning containers on time.
   The spokeswoman for the Port of Miami did not return a phone call inquiring about the trucking situation.