Business Feels Little Impact on First Day of Rail Strike : Shipping: The nationwide walkout could cause problems for companies that must rely on trains.

Many San Fernando Valley-area companies reported business as usual Wednesday despite the rail strike that brought deliveries to a halt nationwide.

For some businesses, such as Rockwell International Corp.’s Rocketdyne Division in Canoga Park and Northrop Corp.’s operations in Palmdale, the strike poses little danger because the aerospace companies receive most of their supplies by truck. Even most businesses that are dependent on rail shipments said they haven’t yet suffered setbacks because of idled rail lines.

“We are prepared to continue our operations with no major disruptions,” said Jozsef Biro, manager of transportation planning for Anheuser-Busch Cos., which operates a brewery in Van Nuys employing 1,350 workers. The nation’s largest brewer of beer relies on rail for shipments of barley and rice. But “we’ve taken steps to be sure enough raw material is on hand,” Biro said.

But for some companies, a prolonged strike could cause severe problems.

“It’s very serious as far as General Motors is concerned,” company spokesman Bill Ott said. If the strike continues, Ott said, the auto maker’s plant in Van Nuys, which employs 2,200 workers, could shut down “in a matter of days.”

The Van Nuys assembly plant, sole producer of Chevrolet Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds, receives most of its parts by rail and “there really aren’t any alternatives,” Ott said. “A lot of those components just aren’t terribly adaptable to shipping by other means.”

Some local travel agencies, already hurting because of the slump in travel during the Persian Gulf War, also worry that customers who bought Amtrak tickets might cancel their vacation plans. Amtrak has promised full refunds for all tickets for rides canceled due to the strike.

Margie Dolgin, owner of Coast to Coast Travel Agency in Tarzana, said her business could drop by as much as 20% if the strike continues because she has many customers who travel only by rail. “I have so many clients who won’t fly,” she said.

In the past few days, Dolgin said she’s received several calls from nervous Amtrak ticket-holders who are concerned about the strike. “Everyone is frantic,” she said.

At the Canoga Park branch of Georgia-Pacific Corp., a wholesale lumber company, manager Bill Cosbey said he’s not worried yet because he has enough lumber to last through the week. But if the strike continues into next week, Cosbey said, he would have to bring lumber in by truck and ship, both more expensive than rail.

The extra cost would be passed along to Georgia-Pacific’s customers--local lumber yards such as Peterson Lumber & Supply Co. in Van Nuys. Don Hiscox, Peterson’s manager, said the increased prices might then be passed on to builders who buy lumber from him.

Meanwhile, local trucking companies, which stand to benefit as businesses that usually ship by rail seek other means, said there has been no flood of requests for their services.

“We haven’t seen anything at all,” said Chuck Hotham, operations manager at Yellow Freight System in Sun Valley.

“We were kind of expecting something,” Hotham said. “Some people are probably waiting to see what happens.”