Truck drivers who work at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach walked off the job Thursday to protest two trucking firms they accuse of wage theft, according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which organized the action.
Exports of California food products took a dive in August, with fruit and tree nuts decreasing by 8 percent when compared to the same time last year and vegetables dropping by 7.8 percent, according to data released Friday by Beacon Economics.
Nearly four-fifths of the state rebates went to households earning $100,000 or more, according to a state survey of buyers. Nearly half of those getting rebates for Tesla’s premium electric sedan earned at least $300,000.
In-state businesses shipped merchandise valued at $15.77 billion in June, up 3.5 percent from $15.23 billion in June 2013, according to an analysis of Wednesday’s U.S. Commerce Department figures by Beacon Economics, a consulting firm with Bay Area and Los Angeles offices.
Hundreds of truckers who work at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach went on strike on Monday to protest what they called unfair labor practices.
In a conference call with oil industry analysts in late 2012, Mike Wirth, a Chevron Corp. executive, took stock of California’s greenhouse gas reduction policies and warned that the state’s plan to expand its controversial cap-and-trade program to vehicle fuels in 2015 would result in higher prices at the pump.
Traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach rose in May compared with the same month last year, according to figures released Monday.
Port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said the jump was in part due to an improving economy. He also said retailers appeared to be importing holiday season goods earlier this year to cover their bases should port labor negotiations fail and affect shipping.
In-state businesses shipped merchandise valued at $15.43 billion in March, up a robust 9.6 percent from $14.07 billion in March 2013, according to an analysis of Tuesday’s U.S. Commerce Department figures by Beacon Economics, a consulting firm with offices in the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
More than 517,000 containers moved through the port in February. Imports were down 2.7 percent, but exports increased 2.1 percent, compared to the same period last year. The number of empty containers sent overseas to be filled with goods dropped 8.3 percent.
After a six-month streak of robust, often double-digit growth, California’s export trade slowed considerably in January, edging ahead just 2.1% over the same month a year earlier, according to a Beacon Economics’ analysis of foreign trade data released this morning by the U.S. Commerce Department.
Gas prices continue to shoot up in the Sacramento region. The average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.674, compared to $3.584 a week ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.
In January, as businesses struggled through a weak post-holiday period in a month that already tends to be slow, industry sales slid by their largest margin in 18 months.
An economic recovery that looked poised to lift off is reverting to its characteristic sluggishness as gauges of shopping activity, job creation, wage growth and factory output flash yellow.
The Home Depot Inc. says it’s preparing to hire 80,000 workers as it prepares for spring, the company’s busiest selling season . . . The do-it-yourself giant’s hiring website currently lists 16,928 open positions nationwide, including 232 openings for part-time workers in California, 178 in Texas, 100 in New York,