Truck fees may start soon.(1984 Shipping Act)

BYLINE: BY BILL MONGELLUZZO

Shippers using old trucks to haul containers in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach may be on the verge of having to pay a $35-per TEU fee, even though the legalities remain unsettled.

Any hopes for a quick ruling on the legality of the portsO clean-trucks programs were dashed on Dec. 5 when a federal judge said he wouldnOt rule before January on the Federal Maritime CommissionOs request to block certain provisions in the clean-trucks program.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon of Washington said there is Oa lot of complexityO surrounding the clean-trucks case and his docket is already clogged with high-profile cases involving Guantanamo detainees and Fannie Mae. He gave the parties until Dec. 17 to file supplementary arguments, but indicated he will not get to the FMC case until January.

The FMC and the ports had hoped for something more …