Independent truckers staffing picket lines around the Port of New Orleans appear to be settling into a stalemate that has no sign of ending soon, according to the Times-Picayune.

The striking truckers, who work as independent contractors for local trucking firms, parked their rigs after spending months trying to negotiate higher pay rates and better working conditions.

“Their backs are up against the economic wall,” Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said of the drivers. "They have had to absorb steadily rising costs of buying and maintaining their rigs, purchasing fuel and all other costs associated with maintaining a small business, while their revenues have been steadily eroded the past two decades.

"The conditions for port drivers everywhere are pretty much the same – abysmal,” Spencer added. "This isn't an isolated issue – truckers serving ports all over the country are having a really tough time surviving, and they deserve consideration of their efforts from all other truckers.”

The strike's gathering impact

Container traffic through the port, which normally runs at about 1,000 boxes per week, was off by 50 percent last week, port Executive Director Gary LaGrange said.

Concern that the strike could be prolonged prompted some truckers and maritime industry executives to search for a moderator in the dispute.

New Orleans Public Belt General Manager Jim Bridger said that about 20 people had asked him to intervene as an arbitrator. The Public Belt is a city-owned, nonprofit railroad that provides local connections between regional and national rail lines.

Bridger said he would assume the role if it's OK'd by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's legal staff and the Public Belt board of directors.

Informal talks between truckers and the 22 trucking firms operating in the city broke down just before the walkout after attorneys for both sides said organized discussions about trucking rates would violate federal and state antitrust laws that bar free market participants from fixing prices. Those same rules prevent independent truckers from forming a labor union.

Meanwhile, Kansas City Southern, one of six major railroads serving the city, has rerouted several hundred containers that normally pass through New Orleans each week because the company can't find truckers to move the cargo through the city, KCS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Gerald Davies said.

Bridger told the Times-Picayune something must be done quickly to prevent the strike's effects from deepening.

"I have had people from all six railroads (serving the city) call me over the past two days about the situation, saying they are considering rerouting cargo," he said.