Both sides submitted their final briefs on Friday in the court battle between the American Trucking Associations and the Port of Los Angeles over the port's clean truck concession program. The fight between the trucking association and the port is not over standards for clean trucks, but over the port's authority as a local public agency to allow only trucking companies that obtain a port concession to service port terminals. Along with that port concession go many requirements that the trucking companies and their customers consider onerous. At the top of that list is the requirement that the companies use only employee-drivers to service the port, not independent contract drivers. The ATA claims in its brief that the federal government is in charge of regulating interstate government, not local agencies. The port argues in its brief that it is both a public agency and a business, and as a business it can set standards for the companies it chooses to do business with. The ATA wants the court to find that the port's concession plan is pre-empted by federal law and should be permanently enjoined. The port wants the court to reject the ATA request and let it get on with its clean truck program.

April was a very good month for at least four of the five top West Coast container ports.
• Leading the comeback pack was the Port of Seattle, which posted a 70.0 percent hike in import boxes in April compared to April 2009, a 55.6 percent jump in exports, and a total increase of 57.0 percent.
• At the Port of Long Beach, imports were up 21.2 percent; exports were up 15.2 percent, and the total box count was up 18.7 percent.
• At the Port of Los Angeles, imports were up 8.3 percent; exports were up 12.4 percent, and total was count up 11.9 percent.
• At the Port of Oakland, imports were up 13.4 percent; exports were up 4.9 percent and, total count was up 9.1 percent.
• Tacoma has not yet posted its April counts.
For details click Here.

The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach are expected to squeak into double-digit growth this year, according to a report released last week by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. The International Trade Trends and Impacts report noted that port congestion had been seen as a major problems, but noted that several expansion projects currently underway at both ports should solve that problem and create jobs for the local economy.

It may not be exactly shocking news, but CEO Magazine has once again named California as the worst state in the nation for doing business. The former Golden State came in 51 - counting the District of Columbia - for the fifth straight year. CEO Chief Editor J.P. Donlon in an interview with Fox Business News, advised reporters there to "go to Sacramento and talk to those people and you'll figure out why." Washington State came in No. 30, up 10 points from last year. Oregon came in 38, down 14 points from 2009. Top state for business - also for the fifth straight year - is Texas. See the list.

Port of San Diego employees will get a 4.6 percent pay cut this summer and an extra day off each month. Port officials announced Thursday that the port would close on the third Friday of each month starting July 1 and continuing through June 2011. Port employees would get the day off without pay. The port, which is facing a projected $10 million shortfall, hopes to save $1.2 million to $1.3 million through the furlough program. Harbor cops and wharfingers are excluded.

Who says labor and management can't work together? The brothers and sisters at the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the suits at the Pacific Maritime Association will break bread in San Pedro on Friday at their annual fundraising lunch for the Los Angeles Harbor Boys and Girls Club.

Borax miners, who have been locked off the job since Jan. 31, voted 3-1 Saturday to approve a settlement agreement with Rio Tinto Minerals, parent company to U.S. Borax and Chemical. The labor dispute between the company and the 570 members of ILWU Local 30 has economically devastated the small Mojave Desert town of Boron. The union - which mainly represents dockworkers at West Coast ports - has rallied to the defense of the miners.

Former and current seafarers and their friends will gather at the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial & Walls of Honor in San Pedro on Saturday for the annual National Maritime Day Observance and Memorial Service. The memorial is at the foot of Sixth Street by the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at Port's O' Call Restaurant at Berth 76. For more info click Here.

The Port of Oakland has honored American President Line for moving the most cargo through the port during 2009. Port Executive Director Omar Benjamin said APL moved 244,249 TEUs during 2009 - a 30 percent increase over 2008. Benjamin noted the achievement was "all the more remarkable considering the state of the economy last year." The Highest Volume Carrier award was established this year by the port.

Speaking of APL, the Los Angeles City Council took a tough stand last week on Arizona's new law that requires arresting people who are found to be in the U.S. illegally. City Council folks decried the Arizona action - some comparing it to Nazi Germany or the internment of Japanese during World War II - and passed a ban against city travel to the state-next-door and put an end to entering into contracts with businesses located there. Although the city ban does not cancel existing contracts, some have pointed out that the two largest trucking companies lured to the Port of Los Angeles with $20,000 per-clean-truck bonuses, were Swift Transportation and Knight Transportation - both Arizona companies. What's that have to do with APL? APL, which operates the 292-acre Global Gateway South terminal at the port, is also an Arizona business. APL and its parent company NOL Group, moved their American HQ from California to Phoenix in 2009 seeking a friendlier business climate. APL had been in the Bay Area more than 150 years.

Port of Seattle Commission President Bill Bryant was named 2010 Maritime Elected Official of the Year at Seattle's Maritime Festival luncheon, an annual event celebrating the region's working waterfront. The selection committee noted Bryant's commitment to environmental projects as well as his ongoing leadership in major transportation projects in and around port facilities. Holland America Line was recognized at the same luncheon as the 2010 Marine Environmental Business of the Year. The line was recognized for eliminating 2,615 tons of diesel engine emissions annually through a combination of fuel conservation and shore power.

The folks at Weston Solutions are the proud winners of the 2010 Project Achievement Award for Outstanding Construction Management presented earlier this month by the Southern California Chapter of the Construction Management Association of America. The company got kudos for its work on the soil remediation project at Pier A West in the Port of Long Beach. Also picking up kudos at the CMAA's awards banquet in L.A. was Mary McCormick of MBI Media, who got the Volunteer of the Year Award.

Look for a lot of Coasties and lawmen running around California ports next week as part of the Governor's annual Golden Guardian full scale emergency response exercise. The scenario for this year's event involves multiple terrorist attacks at California ports. The operation will involve ports in both northern and southern California. There will be a lot of activity, but no disruption to port business is expected, except for possible lookie-loos.

-- The Cunningham Report