California to Restrict Truckers
California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 5 into law, a measure that trucking interests in the state say will virtually wipe out the ability to use owner-operators. The law essentially makes it illegal in California to hire owner-operator independent contractors who, today, provide significant capacity in that market. The law goes into effect in January. The industry is watching closely to see how the new law will affect capacity and pricing, and whether the measure may spread to other markets.
The Wall Street Journal reports that truckload carrier Landstar System Inc. is already restructuring its California operations and the California Trucking Association is suing the state over the sweeping new labor law.
Drones, Planes & Automobile
Will drone air freight really begin to replace ocean liner transportation in the next decade as predicted at a recent CONECT conference? Will US regulators allow the movement of cargo directly from Asian source locations to final US inland destinations? Industry experts predict the cost to move cargo via drones will one day (soon) be on par with PNW/PSW ocean and intermodal.
ILWU - West Coast Longshore Union Fined
The ILWU was recently hit with a $98.3 million penalty for deliberately slowing container terminal operations in Portland.