SoCal truck plan: IANA throws support behind ATA injunction request
The nation's leading intermodal freight trade association said Thursday it supports a federal court request by the American Trucking Associations to block a portion of the Southern California port's trucking re-regulation plan.
The Intermodal Association of North America, whose members include more than 900 firms representing all segments of the freight transportation industry, said that while it supports the environmental goals of the ports' truck plan to reduce diesel emissions, it believes a ports-mandated access license component of the plan is illegal under federal law.
'It is contrary to federal actions and public policy for states and localities to enact laws and regulations that impose unreasonable burdens and restraints on interstate and international commerce,' IANA said in a statement issued Thursday.
IANA, which cited the potential of the truck plan 'to restrict the ability of the competitive marketplace to determine the way transportation services are delivered,' also alleges that the truck plan violates the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 and the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles truck plan, set to take effect Oct. 1, seeks to replace or retrofit nearly 17,000 local drayage vehicles with cleaner models through ports-supplied grants, incentives and subsidies to local motor carriers. To be eligible for the port funds and to continue working in the ports after Oct. 1, motor carriers must obtain a ports-mandated access license. To obtain an access license, called a concession agreement by the ports, motor carrier must submit internal business information and agree to other-ports defined criteria.
IANA Chairman Ted Prince said, 'The evolving patchwork of local, state and federal clean air regulations will only serve to increase costs, decrease efficiencies, and ultimately balkanize operations for all participants. At a time when the economy is struggling to recover, injecting uncertainty into the stability and performance of our global supply chain is just bad business.'
The ATA sued the ports in federal court on July 28 arguing that the access license component violates federal interstate commerce laws. A week later, the association asked the same court to injunct the access license component citing immediate harm to the trucking industry if the truck plan is implemented.
Joni Casey, IANA's president and chief executive officer, said, 'Our diverse member companies transport the vast majority of the containerized cargo moving throughout North America and overseas, and much of this freight flows through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The potential for the concession plans to adversely impact transportation movements is too great for IANA to remain silent on this issue.'
In addition to IANA, the National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade association, has also offered support for the ATA case. A Los Angeles U.S. District Court will hear arguments on the injunction at a hearing Sept. 8.
ATA officials said Thursday that they were pleased with the IANA announcement. 'It's a welcome addition to our side of the debate, because IANA represents all the major constituents in the port trucking arena, including railroads, trucking firms, port authorities, terminal operators and ocean carriers,' said Curtis Whalen, executive director of the Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference arm of ATA.