Everybody is happy that the air is cleaner at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, but now Congress wants to know more about those agreements that trucking companies are using to lease clean trucks to independent contract drivers. Congressional staff investigators have sent letters to trucking companies seeking information about how those leases work and whether or not they are a ruse to get around laws distinguishing employee-drivers from non-employee contract drivers. The probe follows a May 5 hearing by the House Transportation subcommittee on the ports' clean truck programs and the effort by the Port of Los Angeles to require the trucking companies servicing the port to use only employee-drivers.
While the other four major West Coast container ports are showing healthy increases from the dismal numbers of 2009, container volumes through the Port of Tacoma continued to slip in April compared to the same month last year. Total container count was up 18.7 percent at the Port of Long Beach, up 11.9 percent at the Port of Los Angeles, up 9.1 percent at the Port of Oakland, and up 57 percent at the Port of Seattle. Tacoma's total count for April, on the other hand, was down 15.5 percent. Not happy news. Detailed stats
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner visited the Port of Tacoma last week as part of a tour to promote U.S. exports. Following a visit to the Boeing Co., Geithner and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire toured the port's North Intermodal Yard and viewed facilities for export cargoes, such as John Deere tractors. Geithner then held a news conference at the port where he promoted President Obama's export initiative and called for a "level playing field" with China. After leaving the Pacific Northwest, Geithner was scheduled to travel to Beijing with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a second round of talks on expanding opportunities for American companies. Text of Talk
Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen is scheduled to retire Tuesday morning at a change of command ceremony presided over by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in Washington, D.C., but he may have to stick around for awhile to help deal with the BP oil gusher a mile below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico. Allen's successor as commandant will be Vice Adm. Robert J. Papp.
Port of Los Angeles commissioners approved renewal of the port's contract with PortCheck - a non-profit service run by terminal operators - to collect clean truck fees. The one-year extension caps the costs of collecting the $35 per TEU fee for both the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach at $3.9 million - a savings of nearly 19 percent compared with the $4.8 million cap the L.A. board rejected two weeks ago. L.A.'s share of the cost is expected to be about 58 percent, or approximately $2.26 million, based on its higher volume of cargo. The renewal has yet to come before Long Beach board members since their port runs on a different fiscal year. With the fee due to be phased out as non-compliant trucks are replaced and income from the fee declining, both ports have pushed to spend less money on the cost of collecting the fee.
Gambol Industries proposed shipyard project at the Port of Los Angeles has been waiting for a review of the company's business plan by the L.A. City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana. That final document, released last week, was somewhat less than expected. The report concludes that the CAO can't reach any conclusions on whether the project would be a sound endeavor, but whatever happens, he says that the shipyard plan must not delay the port's channel-deepening project. The review was done at the request of the City Council's Trade, Commerce and Tourism Committee, headed by Councilwoman Janice Hahn.
Businessman and attorney Eugene Kwan has been appointed to the Port Metro Vancouver board. Kwan, who resides in Vancouver, is president of Agincourt Capital Corp. and senior counsel at the international business law firm of Stikeman Elliott.
Memorial services were held last week for Port of Kalama Commissioner Fred Swanstrom, who died at his home on May 13. Swanstrom, 77, had been on the port board since 1995.
Port of Tacoma commissioners have approved a $2 million contract with Tucci and Sons of Tacoma for work related to the restoration of a 23-acre wildlife habitat at the mouth of Hylebos Creek. The contract will include the removal of contaminated soils, the filling and grading of a former gravel mine, and the demolition of structures from a former concrete recycling facility. Native vegetation also will be planted at the site, which will provide resting and feeding areas for young salmon as well as a home for water birds and other wildlife. The total project, which includes design, restoration and monitoring, is expected to cost about $12 million.
The Port of Los Angeles will discuss the land use and infrastructure plans for the Wilmington Marina area at a June 5 meeting in the Wilmington Recreation Center. The Saturday meeting is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
-- The Cunningham Report
