FMC issues details of SoCal truck plan investigation

FMC issues details of SoCal truck plan investigation The Federal Maritime Commission on Monday posted a Federal Register notice offering further details of the its investigation into the Southern California ports' truck plan.
   The filing, which also offers a full background of the Long Beach and Los Angeles port's truck plan, itemizes seven possible violations of the Shipping Act of 1984 being examined by the commission.
   The FMC announced the investigation last week.
   The Port of Los Angeles, which approved a slightly different final version of the two ports' jointly-developed truck plan, was solely named by the FMC in five of the seven possible violations. Neighboring Port of Long Beach was named jointly with the Los Angeles port in the remaining two possible violations.
   Possible Shipping Act violations referencing the Los Angeles version of the plan are:
   ' A mandate that only employee drayage drivers be used by trucking firms serving the port.
   ' Whether trucking firms receive undue advantage or disadvantage from banning independent owner-operators.
   ' Whether trucking firms receive undue advantage or disadvantage from port-offered incentives to join the drayage fleet.
   ' Whether port rules to deny access to terminals if truck firms do not follow off-street parking requirements is a violation.
   ' Whether the port refused to deal or negotiate with truck firms that use independent owner-operators.
   Possible Shipping Act violations that name both ports include:
   ' Whether exemptions from a container tax for certain truck firms provides undue advantage or disadvantage to those firms.
   ' Whether the ports failed to properly publish criteria under which ports-issued access licenses would be granted.
   According to the filing, the FMC could impose civil penalties for any violation of the Shipping Act found or, where, appropriate, issue cease and desist orders.
   While the Port of Los Angeles has not issued a public comment on the FMC investigation, Long Beach Executive Director Richard Steinke addressed the topic in a release last week.
   “While we appreciate that large-scale environmental improvement projects such as the Clean Trucks Programs are unprecedented in the experience of the FMC, we believe that the practices that the commission proposes to investigate are essential to the health, security and safety of the ports, and those who work and live near the ports,” Steinke said.
   The FMC plans to hold a public hearing on the investigation and an additional hearing before the commission’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. A time and place have not been set for either hearing.
   The ports' truck plan, which seeks to modernize the local drayage fleet of 16,800 drayage truck by 2012, is set to take affect Wednesday.