Union Pacific today stopped accepting cargo bound
for the ports of Oakland and Los Angeles to avoid a pile-up of containers
as truckers vowed to continue protests that last week slowed traffic to a
trickle at the country's key West Coast gateways.
The railroad said that the embargo would remain in
place until the protests end or some resolution is reached.
The embargo on trailers and containers was
effective at 12:01 a.m. Monday local time at Oakland, Long Beach, Los
Angeles, City of Industry, East Los Angeles and Montello. UP's ramp at
Lathrop, Calif. was embargoed Saturday morning, said John Bromley,
director of public affairs, in an e-mail message.
Hundreds of independent truckers demonstrated at
terminals in Oakland and Los Angeles Friday (schedules)
against rising gas prices. Terminal operators said truck traffic dropped
as much as 85 percent during the protest.
Truckers also demonstrated at UP's intermodal ramp
in Lathrop in San Joaquin County, where traffic dropped to 30 percent of
normal.
The harbor truckers are demanding that ocean
carriers pay fuel surcharges to cover soaring diesel prices.
The California Trucking Association said about 15
percent of the state's 10,000 to 12,000 truckers worked Friday. The CTA is
not supporting the protests.
