The American Trucking Associations (ATA), with the support of its Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference (IMCC), filed suit in the United States District Court in California challenging the port “Concession Plans” as approved by the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach CA and their harbor commissions. The plans will limit access to the ports to only those trucking companies that have entered into concession contracts approved by the port program administrator.
The concession plans impose a broad range of operational requirements that create a regulatory environment similar to state intrastate economic regulation. The ports have acknowledged that these intrusive regulatory systems will result in far fewer trucking companies being able to service the ports, reducing competition.
In its filing, ATA asserts that the ports' actions violate the federal statutory provision (49 U.S.C. § 14501) that prohibits states or their political subdivisions from enacting or enforcing a legal requirement that is “related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier.” The filing points to a host of regulatory requirements (e.g., submission of truck maintenance, safety, and parking plans; equipment marking and tracking; financial oversight; routing mandates; and periodic reviews and audits) that will dramatically affect a motor carrier's operations at the ports in terms of price, routes, and services.