California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule doesn’t go into effect for an additional six months, however it is already having unintended consequences for the drayage industry tasked with moving cargo out and in of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Speaking at FreightWaves’ Way forward for Supply Chain even in Cleveland on Thursday, Harbor Trucking Association CEO Matt Schrap said that under the rule, starting in January 2023 any recent entrant into the state’s drayage sector trying to access any of the state’s ports or Class 1 railroad yards can have to have haul with a zero-emissions truck. Under the rule, that essentially means a battery-electric or hydrogen-powered truck. Any current operator trying to add capability to its fleet will probably be under the identical restriction.
Due to the added equipment costs and other aspects, “starting on that date we have now motor carriers who aren’t going to find a way so as to add additional capability to satisfy shipper demand,” Schrap told John Kingston, FreightWaves’ oil market expert, during a fireplace chat. “So on the front end, we see loads more diesel trucks being added into the system immediately to compensate for any swings that may come up.”
As well as, starting in February 2025, drayage corporations will need to start out reporting engine mileage, because a provision requires that diesel engines — starting with those manufactured in 2010 — be faraway from fleets after a minimum of 13 years, or as much as 18 years or 800,000 miles, Schrap said.
Based on California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimates, that can translate to about 2,000 trucks serving the ports of LA and Long Beach effectively being removed overnight, he noted.
“The difficulty is infrastructure,” Schrap said. “In the event you do some back-of-the-napkin calculations, we’re talking just in 2025 alone, to support [replacing] those 2,000 vehicles, 150 to 200 additional megawatts [for electric trucks] will have to be available. And we aren’t there.”
Schrap said a significant flaw in the way in which CARB rolled out the regulation is that the agency assumes that fleets will replace diesel-powered trucks one-to-one with electric trucks. “That’s how they do their emissions forecasting, but that’s not the case. We’re going to see more diesel trucks put into the system, and we’re going to see them stay within the system longer, because [CARB] has effectively removed that ability” for fleets to show over their equipment sooner, he said.
CARB also miscalculated how the drayage industry operates, in accordance with Schrap.
“The idea for drayage is that it’s back to base every night. But we have now trucks coming from all around the country. We have now members coming from California’s Central Valley, which is taken into account a long-haul route. You can’t do a round trip from Fresno to LA-Long Beach on a single battery charge.”
Schrap insisted that his association and the trucking industry at large aren’t against moving to zero emissions. “Regulations are there for a reason, but this is just not about air quality, that is about political expediency. CARB is unchecked at this point.”
Despite his issues with the agency and its clean fleet rule, his message to shippers is, “Bring your freight back to California,” he said. “The [West Coast dockworker labor contract] for essentially the most part is finalized, and among the dust is shaking from [California’s AB5 independent contractor rule]. We have now the capability immediately.”