Giuen News

Sunday, September 30, 2007

PORT TRUCKERS LIKE MARVIN PALACIOS, Sep. 30, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune
Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
there are at least 2,000 in South Florida, mostly Hispanic, young and
male, who haul cargo from the ports to regional distribution centers
and back the other way for export -- are the tiniest players in a
global transport chain comprised of giants like railroads, ocean
shippers, terminal operators and intermediaries who store and
consolidate cargo.

The giants have profited as maritime trade surged over the last 50
years. But port truckers never cashed in. Some, like Palacios, are
doing worse than when they started.

Not until 10:30 a.m. in a Doral industrial park did Palacios -- 52 and
breathing hard, red-faced in the heat -- back into the loading dock
for his first load of the day, a 20-foot container holding 9,113
pounds of resin solution with a flash point of 13 degrees Celsius.