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Jun 15, 2013

Port of Los Angeles’ Clean Truck Program * USA

* DC - U.S. Supreme Court rejects L.A. port's concession program

(Photo)
Washington,DC,USA -Land Line, by Charlie Morasch -13 June 2013: -- The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a major component of the Port of Los Angeles’ Clean Truck Program... In a 19-page ruling released Thursday, June 13, the high court unanimously stated the port’s concession program did fall under the scope of a congressional pre-emption that prohibits states and local government bodies from regulating motor carriers... The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach each approved Clean Truck Programs in 2008. The programs banned pre-1989 trucks from entering their ports in 2009. By January 2010, trucks with 1993 model year engines and older were banned. Since 2012, only trucks meeting 2007 model year diesel engine emissions standards have been allowed onto the ports... The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act ( FAAAA) protection prohibits enforcement of state or local laws and regulations “having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier”... ATA President and CEO, Bill Graves, stated: “Our position has always been that the port’s attempt to regulate drayage operators – in ways that had nothing to do with its efforts to improve air quality at the port – was inconsistent with Congress’ command that the trucking industry be shaped by market forces, rather than an incompatible patchwork of state and local regulations"...

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Jan 13, 2012

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA

* California - Clean Truck Program has reduced emissions 80% supporter claims

(Photo by Marilyn Bechtel/PW: Trucks line up at  the Port of Oakland)
Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Fleet Owner -Jan 13, 2012: -- California’s Clean Truck Program designed to “green” port cargo trucks by introducing cleaner vehicles in the Port of Los Angeles has surpassed its goal of reducing truck emissions at that port by 80%, according to a former Los Angeles city official... The Clean Truck Program began four years ago with a gradual ban on high-polluting trucks. The Port Authority offered $55 million in incentives for carriers to replace older trucks with cleaner ones, including natural gas-fueled rigs...   Nearly 10,000 “clean trucks” are now in service at the port...

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Jan 18, 2011

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA - Truckers Launch Appeal

ATA filed opening brief in appeal opposing concession requirements

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, Bill Mongelluzzo -Jan 3, 2011: -- The American Trucking Associations filed its opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, charging that the U.S. District Court in September erroneously upheld the concession requirements in the Port of Los Angeles' clean-truck plan... The case is of national significance because it could play an important role in determining whether port authorities can regulate harbor trucking and promote the unionization of drivers... ATA stated that a major concern involves the impact of the Port of Los Angeles concession requirements on the prices, routes and services of motor carriers. State and local entities are prohibited from regulating motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce... ATA also questioned if the district court erroneously exempted the port from federal preemption law based on the port's market participant defense. The Port of Los Angeles argued that it is exempt from federal preemption law because it is a participant in the international port industry and is attempting to protect its commercial interests... Also, ATA questioned whether the port's concession requirements fall under the motor carrier safety exception of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, and whether the requirements are truly responsive to safety concerns... (Photo from sarahpalintruthsquad: Idling trucks at the Port of Los Angeles )


* Oregon - Clean-Trucks Program Starts Up

Seattle,OR,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bill Mongelluzzo -Jan 3, 2011: -- Program bans all 1993 and older trucks from port service... The Port of Seattle's clean-truck program went into effect over the weekend, with all motor carriers required to register their vehicles on the Drayage Truck Registry and all drivers required to display a Green Gateway sticker on their vehicles in order to gain access to marine terminals... The program, which is designed to support the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, bans all 1993 and older trucks from port service. Since the registry was opened last year, some 4,000 trucks and 800 motor carriers have registered...  (Photo by JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES: A column of trucks wait at the Port of Seattle)

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Oct 27, 2010

Clean Truck Program * USA - Judge allows injunction against Port of LA’s employee-driver rule

A federal judge in California has granted a temporary injunction that blocks the Port of Los Angeles from enforcing its employee-driver mandate

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -October 26, 2010:  ...   The employee driver provision is part of the port’s comprehensive Clean Truck Program, which has already banned all trucks with pre-1994 model year engines, and in 2012 will ban trucks that don’t meet 2007 federal emissions standards...   On Monday, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder reinstated an injunction that prevents the port from requiring only truck drivers who are company employees...   Monday’s tentative ruling may be confirmed in the next several days, and would be effective until an appeal of the employee-driver mandate filed by American Trucking Associations is considered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals...   According to court documents, the Ninth Circuit has previously stated the employee driver provision was “likely to cause irreparable harm to motor carriers,” despite an amended timetable that gives carriers until the end of 2011 to make 20 percent of gate moves by employee drivers, increasing to 100 percent by the end of 2013... OOIDA has objected to expensive fees for port access and has pointed out underlying problems at ports that go beyond the scope of the Clean Truck Program, such as bad lease-purchasing schemes...

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Oct 15, 2010

Clean Air Rules * USA - California: Election Results Will Not Affect Those

Companies say rules will continue to be implemented despite election outcome

Sacramento,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bill Mongelluzzo -Oct 13, 2010: ... Heavy-duty truck and bus regulations approved in late 2008 by the California Air Resources Board will be phased in over the next 13 years. By 2023, all heavy-duty trucks operating on California roads and highways must have 2010 engines or the equivalent... Trucking companies hoping to delay or avoid investments in new, clean equipment have taken heart by a proposition on the Nov. 2 ballot that would delay implementation of a greenhouse gas regulation until unemployment in the state drops to 5.5 percent from over 12 percent today... But Clean-air regulations affecting heavy-duty trucks and 53-foot trailers in California will continue in force no matter what happens in the Nov. 2 election, so all companies shipping into or within the state should be prepared to clean up their fleets, according to industry executives...The fleet and bus rules are all-encompassing, affecting out-of-state trucks traveling into California as well as trucks registered in the state. Also, shippers or warehouses that contract for services involving non-compliant trucks will be subject to fines just as the owners of the trucks are liable. Schrapp said fines range from $300 to $10,000 per day...  (Picture from cache1.asset-cache.net: LONG BEACH, CA - SEPTEMBER 08: A truck is driven near the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the busiest port complex in the US)


* USA - Other states and the federal government have been adopting California’s Clean Air Regulations

Sacramento,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bill Mongelluzzo -Oct 13, 2010: ...   Clean-air regulations affecting heavy-duty trucks and 53-foot trailers in California will continue in force no matter what happens in the Nov. 2 election, so all companies shipping into or within the state should be prepared to clean up their fleets, according to industry executives...   The CARB truck and bus rules are designed to ensure that pollution is cut from trucks that carry freight on the state’s roads and highways. In Southern California, the Los Angeles-Long Beach clean-truck plan is well underway and requires that 100 percent of the trucks entering the ports by Jan. 1, 2012, are compliant... At other California ports, CARB has a different set of rules that track the Los Angeles-Long Beach clean-truck plans, although with a longer timeline... Furthermore, other states and the federal government have been adopting California’s clean-air regulations, with some modifications, since the first clean-air legislation in the state 60 years ago, so similar laws will eventually affect trucking throughout the country, the speakers said... (Map from bioage.typepad.com: 11 the number of states that have adopted California's pioneering emissions standards, which include standards for carbon dioxide emissions, the main greenhouse gas. These states now include: California, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey)

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Oct 10, 2010

CLEAN PORTS * USA - Trucking group challenges NYNJ Port’s ‘voluntary’ sticker

“The Port Authority agrees:  the trucks aren’t the largest polluter. Well, why do we have the mandatory Clean Truck Program?: This is about the Teamsters wanting to unionize"...

New YorK,NY,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -October 8, 2010: -- A longtime trucking association says plans to use stickers to identify emissions compliant trucks at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are mandatory and illegal, and it has asked FMCSA to review the program... The Port Authority says the program is voluntary and it is changing the name to say just that... The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently created a new port tariff with several provisions aimed at cutting diesel emissions from drayage trucks. The port designed a drayage truck registry for all trucks that conduct business on port authority terminals, and a “voluntary” compliance sticker program they say may speed up port visits for truckers... It also bans 1993 and older model year engines by Jan. 1, 2011... To help port security identify compliant trucks, the port has implemented what it calls a compliance sticker program... Port Authority spokesman Bill Nurthen told Land Line the stickers will help drivers facilitate timely movement through the ports... Gail Toth, the New Jersey Motor Truck Association’s executive director, said: “Going green makes green, and we’ve supported that ...   But there’s one thing about supporting something...   This is not about the environment. This is about the Teamsters wanting to unionize. People need to see this for what it is” ...   Toth said New Jersey trucks at the ports are responsible for a tiny percentage of particulate matter emitted at the ports...   “The Port Authority agrees, and they admit we aren’t the largest polluter at the port. Well, why do we have the mandatory Clean Truck Program?” Toth said... (Photo from p12.nysed.gov: Aerial photograph of New York City Harbor from Jersey City)

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May 10, 2009

CELAN TRUCKS * USA - The Port of Long Beach has dropped or delayed certain fees called

Long Beach Modifies Clean Truck Program

Long Beach,CAL,USA -Outsourced Logistics -May 7, 2009: -- ... To minimize costs for customers of the Port of Long Beach, its board voted to defer the Infrastructure Cargo Fee until at least July 1, 2010 and encouraged staff to seek federal stimulus funds... The port's board also approved a reduction of $20 per twenty-foot-equivalent-unit (TEU) on wharfage fees charged to ocean carriers to bring additional intermodal cargo through Long Beach... Changes in the Clean Truck Program include eliminating the Clean Truck Fee and scrappage requirements for privately financed clean trucks. It also eliminated the Clean Truck Fee and scrappage requirements for port-funded liquefied natural gas or alternative-fueled trucks. The third change was eliminating the Clean Truck Fee for new trucks funded by gateway cities and for the “first 50 or so” new trucks funded by the Clean Trucks Program... (Photo artoflean: Toyota inventory Long Beach)

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May 9, 2009

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA - LA Port to Pay Incentives for Alternative Fuels

Truckers to receive up to $80,000 toward purchase of vehicle

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bill Mongelluzzo -May 8, 2009: -- The Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved up to $44.2 million for an incentive program that will bring natural gas and electric powered trucks into the harbor drayage fleet... Under the 2009 Clean Truck Incentive Program, harbor trucking companies would receive up to $80,000 toward the purchase of a vehicle that runs on liquefied natural gas or compressed natural gas. Subsidies will also be available for purchasers of trucks that operate on lithium battery electric power... The port's goal is to put 1,000 alternative fuel trucks into service this year, said Geraldine Knatz, executive director... Last year, the port's incentive program helped put into service 2,200 trucks, most of which were clean diesel vehicles that meet or exceed the 2007 emissions standards set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency... (Photo from LA Times: "Cleanup at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach begins to pay off")

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Apr 4, 2009

CLEAN TRUCKS PROGRAM * USA - LA Port okays day-pass system

Will allow truckers not part of the Clean Trucks Program to make two port visits a month

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Today's Trucking (CAN) -3 April 2009: -- The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission unanimously approved a permanent day-pass system that will allow truckers not part of the Clean Trucks Program to make two port visits a month... Trucks that have not taken part in the "lengthy and expensive process" of becoming port concessionaires for the program, can now purchase up to 24 day-passes per year, at a cost of $30 per pass, reports the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)... The port is working to make day-pass purchases available online to make the process smoother when long-haul drivers arrive at the port gates... The twin Port of Long Beach is considering a similar measure, says OOIDA...

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Apr 2, 2009

CLEAN TRUCKS PROGRAM * USA - LA/LB to Begin Disbursing Clean-truck Fees

More than $200,000 per day to help carriers purchase new vehicles

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Journal of Commerce, by Bill Mongelluzzo -Apr 2, 2009: -- The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have each been collecting more than $200,000 a day in clean-truck fees since Feb.18. They intend to begin disbursing that money soon to help motor carriers purchase new vehicles under their clean-truck programs... Meanwhile, the ports' Drayage Truck Registry has identified some 3,500 trucks that meet the 2007-model emission standards contained in the Clean Air Action Plan... Now that the ports are collecting the clean-truck fees, they are developing plans to disperse the revenue so that the trucking industry can meet the Jan. 1, 2010, deadline to replace all pre-1994 trucks with new vehicles or retrofit pre-2004 trucks with an acceptable device, said Don Snyder, director of trade relations at the Port of Long Beach... Also, the ports intend to use the subsidy money to encourage motor carriers to purchase alternative-fuel trucks, such as those that run on liquefied natural gas, Snyder said...

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Jan 2, 2009

CLEAN TRUCK PROGRAM * USA - L.A. port begins CT payout

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -eTrucker -29 Dec 2008: -- The Port of Los Angeles announced t it has begun distributing an estimated $44 million in incentive checks to its Clean Truck Program concessionaires that already have committed to deploying new privately funded clean trucks into drayage service in advance of CTP schedule requirements... The port said the early infusion of 2007-compliant trucks enables it to achieve immediate and significant emissions reductions – well ahead of the progressive truck ban deadline...

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Dec 23, 2008

"CLEAN TRUCKS"· PROGRAM * USA - Truckers worry about meeting 2010 truck ban

CAL,USA -Pacific Shipper, by BILL MONGELLUZZO -December 22, 2008: -- Harbor truckers in Los Angeles-Long Beach are looking ahead to Jan. 1, 2010, and they’re getting nervous... Barely a year from now, the nation’s busiest container ports will swing into the next phase of their clean-trucks rules, and banish as many as 12,000 pre-2004 model vehicles unless they are retrofitted to reduce emissions. That total represents 75 percent of the harbor drayage fleet... Trucks built before 1989 already have been banned from the harbor under a program designed to reduce the ports’ air pollution from trucks by 80 percent over the next five years... The second phase of the clean-trucks program calls for banning pre-1994 trucks at the start of 2010 and retrofitting the 1994-2003 trucks with particulate traps. It’s unlikely that motor carriers will be able to replace 12,000 trucks with new vehicles — costing about $100,000 each — during the next year. And as of now, there is no certified retrofit device that will meet the ports’ standards... The situation is raising concern about a possible shortage of trucking capacity in the harbor... (Photo: Thousands of trucks will be banned from the ports 12 months from now and truckers worry about funding replacements)

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Dec 13, 2008

CLEAN TRUCKS PROGRAM * USA - Problems at ports shaft motor carriers

Stuck Trucks

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Business Journal, by FRANCISCO VARA-ORTA -15 Dec 2008: -- After the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach pressed on in October with their plan to cut down on truck pollution, Brian Griley decided to embrace the program despite opposition from many of his fellow truckers... The owner of Southern Counties Express, a motor carrier that operates 200 trucks serving the ports, went out and spent $10 million of his own money to buy 50 liquefied natural gas and 55 clean diesel trucks, each priced around $100,000... In order to encourage motor carriers to make the switch, the ports planned to charge truckers not using the cleanest trucks a fee of $35 per 20 foot cargo container, or $70 per 40 foot cargo container they haul. The idea is that owners of clean trucks like Griley who don’t pay the fee will have a cost advantage when negotiating drayage rates with cargo owners... That fee was supposed to be assessed on Oct. 1 when the Clean Trucks Program kicked off, but it was delayed to Nov. 17 when the Port Check organization the two ports developed to collect the fee wasn’t up and running in time. Now, it’s been suspended pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Maritime Commission, which regulates port activity... The commission’s lawsuit, filed Oct. 31, alleges the ports don’t have the authority to require motor carriers to get concessions – essentially permission – to operate at the ports. Complicating the situation, the lawsuit also seeks to overturn a requirement specific to the Los Angeles port – that carriers hire their drivers, who have historically operated as independent owner-operators... As a result, there is a financial disincentive for motor carriers to use clean-burning rigs, which Griley said are more expensive to run because of their higher insurance and maintenance costs, given the sophisticated technology they use... (Photo: New 'clean' trucks worth $100,000 each sit idle on a trucking company's lot in Rancho Dominguez)

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Nov 12, 2008

CLEAN TRUCKS * USA - 3 groups file suit to protect clean trucks plan

Three environmental groups are suing the Federal Maritime Commission over the clean trucks program at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Mercury News/Associated Press -11 Nov 2008: -- ... The suit filed Monday alleges the agency violated environmental laws when it sought a court order to halt parts of the program that could lead to the replacement of about 18,000 older trucks... The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Coalition for Clean Air filed the suit in U.S. District Court, claiming the commission failed to consider public health and environmental damage... The commission says the new rules will reduce competition and either increase transportation costs or reduce service at the port...


* Los Angeles, Long Beach ports finalize bonuses for certain concessionaires

Los Angeles,CAL,USA - The Cunningham Report /Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -November 11, 2008: -- The Port of Los Angeles has reportedly moved forward with a new $50 million incentive plan for trucking companies that do business as port concessionaires... The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has approved giving motor carriers who are licensed port concessionaires a $20,000 payment for each truck with a 2007 model year engine that is committed to port drayage. The carriers also would be eligible to receive $10 per container moved for trucks with 600 “drays per year” at the San Pedro ports. The bonus would be capped at $10,000 annually... After the port opened the incentive program in August, more than 100 companies responded and agreed to bring 7,000 trucks into the ports. That response, The Cunningham Report noted, spurred port staff to close the program in mid-September... Each port is requiring most drayage trucks to register and become licensed concessionaires for repeated port entry. The ports also are requiring drivers to show they’ve at least applied for enrollment into the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program... Officials with both ports have said they’ll allow long-haulers to make 12 visits to the ports per year, although each visit will cost $100... OOIDA officials have said they’ll continue to discuss their views with port leaders, including the Association’s concerns that the $100 price is too high...

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Oct 16, 2008

'Clean Trucks' * USA - Supporters Lobby Commission

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The Los Angeles Business Journal, by RICHARD CLOUGH -15 Oct 2008: -- The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports kicked off their controversial truck replacement programs two weeks ago, but the battles over the environmental plan have not stopped... Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has reached out to the Federal Maritime Commission, asking them not to block the program, which aims to slash diesel truck emissions by as much as 80 percent... The commission, which regulates international shipping, is currently assessing whether the costs associated with the program hinder international commerce. The commission has until Nov. 2 to decide if it will ask a judge to block the program... The environmental benefits of the plan, Feinstein said in a letter to the federal agency, outweigh the potential drawbacks of rising shipping rates...

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Oct 10, 2008

CLEAN TRUCKS PROGRAM * USA - ATA Files Opening Brief in Ports' Injunction Appeal

Arlington,VA,USA -MarketWatch, by Clayton Boyce -Oct 09, 2008: -- The American Trucking Associations filed its opening brief on Oct. 8 with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in an effort to secure an injunction against the enforcement of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach's Concession Plans that became effective Oct. 1... ATA believes the concession plans unlawfully re-regulate the port trucking industry to the detriment of motor carriers, shippers, businesses and consumers that depend on the products that are handled at those ports... ATA supports the ports' clean truck program and the replacement of older trucks, but does not support the concession plans' illegal re-regulation of the trucking industry...

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Oct 6, 2008

Clean Trucks Program * USA - Gets Off To A Gentle Start

Long Beach,CA,USA -The Cunningham Report -5 Oct 2008: -- It may have been a soft launch, but the Wednesday debut of the Clean Trucks Programs at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach went off smoothly, more for what didn't happen than what did. There were no long lines of trucks, snarled traffic, or shortages of trucks or drivers... The economy helped. Trade is down and so is the volume of traffic usually encountered this time of year. Also, there are many elements of the Clean Truck Program still missing. The ports backed off plans to immediately start charging the $35 per TEU clean truck fee on all loaded containers passing through terminal gates on non-compliant trucks, after terminal operators warned that collecting the fee before a system was in place would lead to cargo gridlock... The ports are now saying they will start charging the fee in a few weeks. The goal is Nov. 1, although that date is both aggressive and optimistic. The terminals have to get their RFID readers working with their terminal operating systems to take and process the clean truck information... There are more battles to be decided. The American Trucking Associations is still engaged in a legal action challenging the ports' rights to establish trucking concessions, and most folks think there will be more lawsuits to come from smaller companies forced out of business by the program. The Federal Maritime Commission has also expressed concerns over the program's effect on commerce and competition in the port drayage industry. It is investigating the program and looking for answers from the ports. But for now, at least, the program is underway...

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Oct 4, 2008

CLEAN TRUCKS PROGRAM * USA - A day after: Old diesels banned at ports

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach formally launched a $1.6 billion initiative Wednesday, aimed at reducing diesel truck emissions by 80 percent within five years

Torrance,CA,USA -The Daily Breeze, by Art Marroquin -1 Oct 2008: --... The first phase of the Clean Trucks Program immediately bans about 2,000 diesel trucks built before 1989, comprising 10 percent of the rigs that haul goods to and from the nation's busiest port complex. The move is expected to remove 350 tons of harmful diesel emissions, which make up about 30 percent of the pollution generated by trucks each year... Truck traffic dropped by up to one-third at some terminals on Wednesday morning, but operations gradually picked up by midafternoon, according to officials at both ports... Additionally, about 5 to 10percent of the trucks trying to enter port terminals were turned away for failing to comply with the program... Police officers from both ports stood at the gates of terminals Wednesday to ensure truck drivers were complying with the plan. Drivers prominently displayed orange windshield stickers to access the Port of Long Beach, while a purple decal was emblazoned on trucks entering the Port of Los Angeles... To illustrate that pre-1989 trucks are no longer welcome in the twin ports complex, one was destroyed Wednesday at the SA Recycling plant near the Port of Los Angeles... Trucker Jorge Sibrian quietly watched as his 1985 big rig was ripped apart like an aluminum soda can. A large metal claw attached to a crane tore into the old truck, which was crushed into hundreds of pieces no bigger than a fist... (Photos by Steve McCrank / The Associated Press - 1 (above)· Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa leaps out of a Port of LA electric truck at the launch of the ports' green trucks program - Photo 2 (below) · A semi-truck is destroyed at SA Recycling as part of the Clean Truck Program on Wednesday)

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Oct 2, 2008

CLEAN TRUCKS PROGRAM * USA - L.A., Long Beach ports to accept day pass, credit cards

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -Sept. 29, 2009 – As the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles prepare to enforce the nation’s first large-scale ban on dirty trucks at ports, the ports have quietly made a “temporary access permit” available for intermittent truck visitors... Both ports, however, also have their own requirements that each truck be registered and approve by the port in taxi-style concessionaires... Long-haul drivers, including many OOIDA members, could gain access to the ports beginning Wednesday when the clean truck programs begin implementation. Both the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced previously that a 12-time day pass system could be used by truckers who make occasional port visits, with each visit costing $100... The fee can be paid only by using Visa, MasterCard or American Express...


* Ports Ready For ‘Soft Launch’ Of Clean Truck Plans

Long Beach,CAL,USA -The Cunningham Report -28 Sept 2008: -- With only two days to go before the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach pop their ambitious Clean Trucks Programs into high gear, officials from both ports are promising to keep cargo flowing smoothly, even if they have to cut drivers and companies some initial slack... Long Beach Port Deputy Executive Director Chris Lytle and Los Angeles Port Operations Director John Holmes told the International Business Association luncheon crowd that they are committed not to let the cargo back up on Wednesday. That will be the day that no trucking company will be allowed in the harbor unless it has at least applied for a concession, and all trucks older than model year 1989 will be banned, unless the owner can show that a new, clean truck has been ordered... Both Lytle and Holmes said there will be plenty of trucks available to haul the loads. Each port has about 600 concession applications, representing 12,000 trucks. To put that into perspective, earlier counts of the port drayage industry showed 1,200 companies representing about 17,000 trucks - an indication that many of the smaller companies have not bothered to apply...


* COMMENT - Bang or fizzle? “Clean Truck” plans kick off at L.A., Long Beach ports

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -October 1, 2008: -- The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach launched their clean truck programs Wednesday, Oct. 1, although the fight over the Teamsters-influenced emissions plan doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon... Each port has approved similar versions of a Clean Truck Plan, including bans on pre-1989 trucks that took effect Wednesday, and will phase in other older truck engine bans until all trucks are required to meet 2007 emissions standards by 2012... The ports’ first day of implementing the plan went off reportedly without a hitch as many drivers who aren’t in emissions compliance were waved through to prevent backups of the thousands of containers shipped from the ports daily, the ports’ public relations employees told local newspapers... “The message at the terminal gates is we will let you in this time, but don’t count on being let in again,” said Arley Baker, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Our No. 1 concern is keeping the gates from becoming congested. We do not want to impede the flow of cargo in any way”... The Port of Los Angeles announced that 500 trucking companies have signed up to be port concessionaires there, making available “over 20,000 trucks” for drayage hauling... (Photo by CM - Truckers entering the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles Wednesday were asked if they had Transportation Worker Identification Credentials and if their engines met new “clean truck” requirements)


* Trucking activity slows as LA-Long Beach program starts

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -The JOURNAL of COMMERCE Bill Mongelluzzo (East Windsor,NJ,USA) -October 1, 2008: -- Truck traffic in Los Angeles-Long Beach was down considerably Wednesday morning as the ports launched their clean-trucks programs to reduce pollution in the harbor area... On a positive note, marine terminal operators turned away very few trucks for not having port-issued stickers. Beginning Wednesday, all motor carriers serving the ports must have stickers on their trucks showing that the companies have signed concession agreements with the ports... Motor carriers heeded the ports’ warnings and only sent trucks with stickers to the harbor... The bad news is that truck traffic was down at most of the terminals. APM Terminals, the operator for Maersk Inc., reported truck volume down 25 to 35 percent on the morning shift. Some terminals reported even steeper drops in truck traffic... Some motor carriers serving the Port of Los Angeles said they did not receive stickers from that port until Monday, two days before the program took effect... A second reason why truck traffic was down Wednesday is that many drivers who do not have their federal Transportation Worker Identification Credential didn’t bother to show up for work... Terminal operators say the situation could worsen considerably this weekend if more truckers fail to get stickers and TWIC cards. Vessel arrivals are always slow in midweek, with most of the ships calling in Los Angeles-Long Beach over the weekend...


* Trucking rules go into effect - L.A. and Long Beach terminals begin air-quality program

Long Beach,CA,USA -The Long Beach Press-Telegram, by Kristopher Hanson -30 Sept 2008: -- Following nearly two years of preparation, port authorities today begin enforcing a truck ban aimed at ridding the nation's largest seaport of the oldest, dirtiest diesel rigs in service... Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster said it's "a landmark day in the fight to clean our air and improve the health of people living and working in Long Beach and the South Bay... There may be some bumps along the way, but in the end, it's going to shape a cleaner and stronger trucking industry"... Despite the loss of so many trucks, port authorities don't expect any disruptions in service... Several hundred new vehicles have been put in service to replace the older rigs, and fallen demand for freight haulers should offset any shortages... (Photo by Stephen Carr: Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster attaches a compliance sticker to a new truck that is allowed to operate at the ports under the new regulations)


* California ports clean up polluting trucks

Los Angeles,CAL,USA -Reuters, by Steve Gorman -Oct 2, 2008: -- The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest U.S. cargo complex, launched a landmark clean-air program on Wednesday banning some 2,000 older trucks blamed for half the pollution spewed by the ports' diesel haulers... The port complex ranks as the biggest air polluter in Southern California -- more than the region's cars -- and heavy-duty trucks operating there generate more than a third of its overall diesel emissions, port officials say... Despite weeks of court wrangling and worries that cargo deliveries would be slowed, at least 15,000 newer-model trucks -- more than enough to keep terminal traffic flowing smoothly -- registered on time to comply with the new requirements at each port, port authorities said... Approval of those plans were crucial to paving the way for port expansions long stalled over concerns about pollution-linked illnesses in nearby communities... (Mario Anzuoni/REUTERS - The Nautilus E-30 electric drayage truck is seen at the port of Los Angeles July 2, 2008. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are requiring cleaner vessel fuels, shoreside electricity so ships will not run their dirty diesel engines at berth, newer truck fleets and cleaner train locomotives)

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Sep 29, 2008

Hold the port - USA - Commission launches another clean truck investigation

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -September 26, 2008: -- A low-profile federal shipping commission may yet slow down the enactment of new “clean truck” requirements at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles... Officials with the Federal Maritime Commission announced Wednesday, Sept. 24, they are opening another investigation into the activities of the twin ports... “The commission appreciates the potential environmental and public health benefits under the Ports’ Clean Truck Program; however, certain aspects of the Ports’ CTPs may violate the Shipping Act (of 1984). Accordingly, the investigation initiated today is tailored to focus on those elements of the CTP that cause the greatest concerns under the Shipping Act,” according to the Maritime Commission’s statement...

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