Traffic eases on SoCal truck fee collection

Traffic eases on SoCal truck fee collection    Traffic and container movement in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles is returning to normal after the first day of a new clean truck fee program snarled roads within the nation’s biggest container gateway Wednesday.
   The Port of Long Beach, in a statement Thursday, said, “There was no congestion Thursday, as more than 90 percent of the trucks entered terminals without a problem. However, traffic remained heavier than usual on Terminal Island, near the ports’ Truck Tag Replacement Center.”
   Terminals in the two ports reported turning away roughly 20 percent of trucks because they weren’t registered under the new program. All trucks are required to register for a tag that denotes them as allowable under the ports’ new clean truck guidelines. Trucks with engines manufactured between 1988 and 2006 are required to pay a $35 per TEU fee (payable by the cargo owner). Those with engines made in 2007 or later are exempt from the fee and trucks older than 1988 are banned from terminals.