With the clock ticking on a 2035 deadline to transform drayage trucks serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to a zero-emissions fleet, a group of USC researchers tackled the issues of what gaps remain to make it all happen.
A report on what they found, titled “Navigating California’s Transition to Zero-Emission Drayage Trucks,” was released on Friday, Sept. 6, and says quickly building more charging and fueling infrastructure, and creating a secondhand market for ZE trucks — to lower the current price tag — are among the challenges the ports face. The report, commissioned by the Los Angeles Business Council Institute, was produced by USC researchers at the METRANS Transportation Consortium, supported by USC andCal State Long Beach.
“One of the recommendations (in the report) is setting up a state coordinating body that can identify the problems and speed the process up,” USC professor Marlon Boarnet, who was one of the report’s authors, said in a Friday interview.
State permits for those facilities can take up to two years, the report says.
A secondhand market for zero-emission trucks, meanwhile, is crucial because the cost to purchase those vehicles is currently far more than most drivers — many of whom are independent contractors — can afford.
“There are a lot of readiness gaps,” Boarnet said.
The deadline to transition the truck fleet will be tough to meet, he said.
“They are a stretch,” Boarnet said. “But it is possible, and I think there’s a real need to concentrate our focus on the gaps.”
And, he added, transitioning the fleet is an important mission for California to pursue.
Of the trucking firms serving the ports, the report said, 70% operate 20 or fewer trucks, making the high expense of the new models especially daunting.
The challenges aren’t new to Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.
“The San Pedro Bay ports have been on the leading edge of investing in the transition to zero-emission operations,” he said, “a role that strengthens our resolve to accomplish the tallest task we’ve ever faced: overhauling the drayage fleet.”
A Clean Trucks Fund rate launched by both ports is helping, said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero.
“When it comes to the San Pedro Bay ports’ transition to zero-emissions trucks, we share the same sense of urgency, and we agree it’s crucial to work together to achieve ZE drayage by 2035,” he said in a written comment. “With the Clean Trucks Fund Rate started in April 2022, the Port of Long Beach alone has collected nearly $90 million through July 2024 to help truckers get ZE trucks and to help pave the way for additional charging units for battery-electric trucks.
“We’ll have more than 100 public charging units in the Port of Long Beach (by 2025) and more on the way,” Cordero added. “We’re fully engaged in the fight against climate change, and we appreciate the LABC highlighting the trucking issue.”
Another challenge is the pace at which the technology is still developing.
“The technology is there,” Boarnet said, but, “it’s new and there’s not a lot of it.”
Zero-emission trucks represent only about 1% of the combined fleet currently serving the twin ports, he said.
“Right now, battery electric truck (technology) is ahead of hydrogen fuel cell,” Boarnet said.
But there are limits in the battery technology too, he said, mainly travel range — only about 150 miles — and charge times, which can range from two to four hours.
“If you’re running two shifts a day, you may not have that window,” Boarnet said.
Hydrogen is better for longer hauls and fuel times, with ranges and load capacity similar to internal combustion engine trucks.
California was the first state to establish tailpipe emissions standards, the report said — and stressed the need to push ahead. Both the economy and residents’ health, Boarnet said, will benefit in substantial ways.
The full report can be found at labusinesscouncil.org.
Related Articles
Port of LA moves forward with $52 million on-dock rail improvement
Word of planned protests cancel public green ship tours for Wednesday
Going green at Maersk: New ship is christened with a new name at Port of LA
Maersk’s green methanol ship, 1st to call at the Port of LA, will be feted at mostly private events
Port of LA commission shakeup continues to draw fire from dockworkers, locals