Life should be getting back to normal this week for independent truckers hauling in and out of West Coast ports.

Truck traffic was backed up at the ports last week as slowdowns - even a two-day shutdown in Oakland - caused chaos. But employers and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached a tentative agreement last Thursday on a new labor contract, according to published reports. The old one expired July 1.
Hundreds of trucks lined up at terminal gates last week as drivers waited for hours to pick up intermodal container loads at some ports.