Four months after adopting what was widely assumed to be an industry-friendly plan to replace thousands of polluting diesel trucks in the harbor, the Port of Long Beach is facing a legal showdown with the nation's largest trucking association, according to documents and interviews.
A representative of the Virginia-based American Trucking Association confirmed Thursday that lawsuits would be filed this month against port authorities in Long Beach, as well as Los Angeles.
The ATA objects to regulation of its industry that would occur under Long Beach plans to issue concession permits to trucking companies before allowing them to haul goods to and from the ports.
"There was a reason the federal government deregulated the trucking industry (in 1980), and it was to allow for a more free and open market," the ATA's Curtis Whalen argued. "The concessions violate that."
The ports, with the help of federal and state grants, will provide more than $1billion in truck-replacement grants and loans and want some leverage to hold the trucking companies responsible for using cleaner trucks.
Earlier this year, both ports adopted concession plans that restrict trucking companies from doing business in the harbor unless they agree to scrap their old trucks in favor of cleaner-burning rigs.
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Trucking group readies L.B. Port suit 
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