Truckers Disrupt Port Traffic to Protest Higher Fuel Costs

Striking independent truckers Thursday disrupted freight traffic at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and harassed fellow drivers on the first day of a nationwide protest against higher fuel prices.

Many drivers refused to enter the ports, and truck traffic at some loading docks dropped dramatically as groups of striking truckers periodically blocked terminal entrances and reportedly threw stones at a few vehicles and broke one windshield. Some of the protesters, driving pickups and cars, pursued big rigs in the Port of Long Beach area in an attempt to slow them down, according to port officials.

“It was a little bit nasty down there,” said Jeff Stotler, dispatcher for KITA Transport of Redondo Beach.

No injuries were reported, and port security was stepped up in response to the protests, said Yvonne Avila, a spokeswoman at the Port of Long Beach. Despite the disruptions, she said most truck traffic at the port moved freely.

Independent drivers move most of the cargo into and out of the ports, trucking officials say. But those drivers were in short supply at the Port of Los Angeles’ Evergreen Container Terminal, where shipping volume was down 50% from normal levels, said James Mullen, marine operations manager. The Veterans Day holiday had been expected to reduce shipments, but not to the level experienced Thursday, he said. Mullen said he expects business to remain below normal today.

Robert Castellanos of Dependable Highway Express, which services both ports, said his firm could not move 100 containers.

Outside the harbor, trucking and state law enforcement officials reported no other problems related to the weeklong protest, which has been organized by a loose-knit group of independent truckers. The protest was triggered by a hike in diesel fuel prices, which rose as much as 40 cents a gallon last month due to new federal fuel taxes and the switch to more expensive, cleaner-burning fuel.