Truckers protest
high cost of diesel
Matson Navigation Co. said that a Northern California truckers protest over high fuel costs will have "a minimal impact" on freight operations to Hawaii.
APL Ltd., which normally handles 1,100 truck calls per day at the Port of Oakland, reported just 115 truck calls on Monday, according to a report in the Journal of Commerce. Drivers at the Port of Oakland have been pelted with rocks by other truckers seeking higher payments to cover the soaring price of diesel, the Journal of Commerce said.
A similar protest crippled the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday, but the terminals were back to normal on Monday.
Matson spokesman Jeff Hull doesn't know how long the protest will continue, but said the truckers' beef is with their employers, not the shippers.
"We have agreements with trucking companies and they, in turn, hire and employ the truckers," Hull said. "Matson has agreements with a number of trucking companies and our customers choose either their own trucking companies or they defer to Matson for the choice of a trucking company."
Hull said Matson's rates are negotiated and cover a number of factors, including fuel costs.
The S.S. Maui, which was scheduled to leave the Port of Oakland at 3 p.m. yesterday, already was half full when it arrived in Oakland Monday night from Seattle, according to Hull.
"We were able to get a decent amount of freight on the ship in Oakland and diverted other freight by truck or rail to Southern California to meet another vessel that (departed from Los Angeles yesterday)," Hull said.
Matson has other ships departing from Oakland and Los Angeles later this week.