Port of Los Angeles (POLA) aims to proceed with the transition to zero-emissions trucks serving the San Pedro Bay port complex, beginning to collect Clean Truck Fund (CTF) Rate from 1 April 2022.
LA port's revenues will exclusively fund zero-emission trucks and associated infrastructure to further the port's goal of eliminating emissions from its trucks by 2035.
The action was unanimously approved on 4 November by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, while the CTF Rate of US$10 per TEU hauled by non-exempt trucks, was jointly set by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in March 2020.
"As we continue to move record-breaking cargo through the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere, it is vital that we implement the Clean Truck Fund Rate to expedite the transition of trucks servicing the Port to zero-emissions," stated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Additionally, to start funding the deployment of zero-emission trucks, the US busiest port will soon seek proposals from local drayage companies partnering with truck manufacturers to deploy 10 zero-emissions short-haul drayage trucks that call at marine terminals and operate within a short distance of the ports (approximately a radius of 40km).
Then, a competitive process will be used to select one team for a US$3 million grant toward the grantee’s truck and infrastructure costs, according to a statement.
The Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved the port tariff’s terms and date for implementing the CTF Rate, and the resolution’s CTF Spending Plan priorities of exclusively zero-emission trucks incentives.
In particular, the tariff sets forth the rates, charges, rules and regulations for doing business at the Californian Port. The CTF Rate will be charged to cargo owners whose containerised cargo is trucked in or out of LA port terminals. The rate will sunset on 31 December 2034.
The rules exempt zero-emission trucks from the Rate, as well as loaded containers entering or leaving marine terminals by on-dock rail. POLA will also exempt trucks that meet or exceed California’s low nitric oxide (NOx) standard through December 2027.
"However, the low NOx trucks must be enrolled in the Port Drayage Truck Registry and in Port service by the end of 2022 to obtain the short-term exemption," noted a port official.
The CTF Rate, also due to be implemented by the Port of Long Beach, is expected to initially raise US$45 million per port.
The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has also adopted CTF Spending Plan priorities of exclusive incentives for turning over the fleet to zero-emissions trucks. The Port of San Pedro Bay is committed to ensuring that staff will develop zero-emission incentive program details, like the proposed US$3 million 10-unit ZE Program, as well as that small businesses and truck owners and operators have equal access to the incentives.
The CTF Rate was among the measures introduced in the 2017 Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) Update to accelerate progress toward a zero-emissions future while protecting and strengthening the San Pedro Bay ports’ competitive position in the global economy.
