Truckers start strike

Upset about wages, fuel costs and anti-union laws, hundreds of independent truckers went on strike Monday at several U.S. ports, slowing the movement of cargo containers that can hold everything from furniture to electronics to frozen food.

Nationwide, independent truckers, who get paid by the load, had called for a strike from Monday to Sunday. It was unclear how many truckers went on strike.

Protests were reported in Newark, N.J.; New Orleans; Charleston, S.C.; Boston and several ports in Southern California. Truckers are upset about rising costs and low wages. But they also want to be able to form unions and collectively bargain for better contracts from shipping and trucking companies that hire them out.

Sprout damage reported in northwest wheat crop

Sprout damage in the winter wheat crop appears confined mostly to northwest Kansas, the state’s chief inspector said Monday.

Randy McCormick, vice president for the Kansas Grain Inspection Service, said the agency’s office in Colby was seeing some sprout damage in samples coming in for grading. Its Dodge City office also had seen a “little bit” of sprout damage, he said. Other offices had reported no sprout damage.

The agency ranked wheat condition as 24 percent very poor, 20 percent poor, 27 percent fair, 26 percent good and 3 percent excellent. It said the state’s harvest is 69 percent complete.

Travel

Gasoline prices dropping

Motorists are getting the cheapest gasoline in nearly two months, but it’s still at a national average of just over $1.92 a gallon, the Energy Department reported Monday.

The government survey said the average price nationwide of regular-grade gasoline dropped an additional 1.6 cents a gallon last week, the fifth week of price decline at the pump. Prices peaked at $2.06 a gallon during the week ending May 22.

The latest price survey reflected the cheapest gas since the last week of April when the price averaged just over $1.84 a gallon. According to a survey by AAA, the average price per gallon in Lawrence was $1.76 on Monday, down from $2.01 a month ago but up from $1.48 a year ago.

Aviation

United loan rejected

United Airlines on Monday lost a bid to secure a federal loan guarantee, a fresh setback to the carrier’s efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. The decision by a federal panel barred the airline from making any other attempts to secure government backing.

The Air Transportation Stabilization Board said that after studying the airline’s latest application, submitted last week, it would not change the panel’s June 17 decision to reject United’s request for a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee.

In a statement, United said it disagreed with the decision but would continue pursuing financing to exit bankruptcy.