Long Beach raises freight fees 10%. (Port of Long Beach)

Port says it needs extra money for truck/rail corridor. But the cash could be yanked for other purposes.

Shipping interests are seething over a series of freight fee hikes averaging 10 percent that the Port of Long Beach is implementing this month.

Port officials say the increase is necessary to help pay for the port's share, up to $200 million, of a $1.8 billion project to develop a dedicated rail and truck corridor between the Long Beach/Los Angeles harbor area and rail yards near downtown Los Angeles.

The fee boost, from $4.60 to $5.06 per metric revenue ton, would raise the port's freight-based income by an estimated $7.7 million a year.

Port …