Shippers turn to trucks to avoid 1997's rail troubles.

Haunted by last year's near meltdown of the Union Pacific Railroad system, importers are turning to long-haul truckers to move their goods out of Los Angeles.

"We've had to pick up the lion's share of freight movement," said Beau Billet, spokesman for the California Trucking Association. which represents 2,500 trucking and supplier firms statewide. "Our members are very busy right now, busier than they have been in quite a while."

Shipping merchandise over the road may cost 30 percent to 50 percent more than rail, but the higher price tag buys peace of mind a precious commodity during the frantic holiday shipping season.

With trucks, "at least you know where your shipment is," said Larry S. Field, president of Canyon Business Services, a freight management and logistics firm in Tarzana.

Field. whose clients include such large national players as Orchard Supply Hardware and Motel 6, is shipping all his retail freight by truck this season.

"Rail is less money," he said, "but we can't afford the risk."

And trucking is likely to grow even more expensive. As a result of increased demand for long-haul service, prices have jumped from about $1 a mile to as much as $1.30 a mile over the past several months alone.

Making matters worse, California - which grows 80 percent of the fruits and vegetables consumed nationwide - is in the midst of its harvest season. Because truckers can make twice as much money hauling produce than they can toys, apparel or other retail goods, a good number of them have abandoned the harbor area for the Central Valley.

"Finding a truck in Los Angeles is a real problem," Field said.

That problem should subside in a week or two, after the harvest season ends. But the holiday shipping season is likely to remain a busy one for truckers, as importers scramble for alternatives to rail service to get time-sensitive merchandise into their warehouses and onto their shelves.

Mike Frickne, a spokesman for Union Pacific, acknowledged that the railroad has seen some of its customers opt for trucks over trains.

"There's no question that we've lost some business to trucks," he said. "We believe that we can get the business back - but first we have to prove we can do what we say we're going to do."

Ironically, Union Pacific appears to be doing just that. By many accounts, the railroad is operating as efficiently as it has in months.

"In general, things seem to be flowing pretty smoothly," said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach. "We're seeing more and more volume and (Union Pacific) seems to be handling it so far."

Imports have been streaming into both Long Beach and Los Angeles since the spring, and July was another record month for both ports. The number of containers moving through Long Beach surged 20 percent in July compared with the same period a month earlier; in Los Angeles, volume was up more than 12 percent.

Despite the continued import surge, Union Pacific has reduced its backlog of containers awaiting shipment, from more than 3,000 two months ago to just 674 last week, according to Frickne.

"Things are moving pretty much on schedule," he said.

But bitter memories of last year's gridlock - during which importers experienced delays of more than a week due to rail problems die hard. And even now, horror stories abound about Union Pacific.

Bob Walters, president of Freight Management Inc, in Anaheim, recently tried to send a container load of imported auto parts from Los Angeles to a Kragen Auto Parts warehouse in Salt Drake City via Union Pacific. The shipment. he said, was lost en route. It finally was located in Casper, Wyo., before reaching its final destination more than two weeks late.

The warehouse was forced to air ship 5,000 pounds of auto parts, at three times the cost of the original shipment. "And they still had to pay for the rail service," Walters said.

For many importers, the headaches begin long before their cargo ever arrives in L.A. With the hobbled Asian economies trying to export their way out of their troubles, nearly every link in the global transportation chain is being stretched to capacity.

The trade imbalance, for example, has created a severe shortage of empty cargo containers in Asia. As a result, prices for the boxes are climbing steadily.

Charlie Woo, chief executive of Megatoys, said he is accustomed to paying between $1,400 and $1,700 to ship a container load of toys from Hong Kong to L.A. These days, he's paying $2,000 per container - and is unable to locate enough boxes to accommodate all of his orders.