Court order brings temporary halt to West Coast dock shutdown

WASHINGTON (Oct. 9)—Acting on a motion from the Justice Department, a San Francisco federal judge has ordered West Coast longshoremen back to work in an 11-day lockout that shut down 29 ports from San Diego to Seattle. Judge William Alsup ordered union and management representatives back to the bargaining table Oct. 16. Manufacturers, distributors and dealers of Asian tires and rubber goods were among U.S. businesses who suffered an estimated $2 billion in lost business daily during the work stoppage. "We run on a just-in-time inventory, so we have a pretty quick impact when something like this happens," said Earl Knoper, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Toyo Tire (U.S.A.) Corp. in Cypress, Calif.