{"id":6036,"date":"2008-06-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-27T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/port-trucking-changes-ahead\/"},"modified":"2008-06-27T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-06-27T06:00:00","slug":"port-trucking-changes-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/port-trucking-changes-ahead","title":{"rendered":"Port Trucking: Changes Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n

This week I attended a workshop all about trucking, put on at the Reef Restaurant in Long Beach by the International Warehouse Logistics Association.  <\/span>Attendees heard from regulators, consultants to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, clean truck technology providers, and other experts about the shifting business environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, the most dramatic message is that five years from now, port trucking (among other related industries) may little resemble its current state – or at least it will be well into a period of irrevocable transition.  <\/span>State and federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions – principally the CO2 emitted from sources like fuel combustion – is imminent, and will affect trucking operations both directly and indirectly.  <\/span>In fact, the state’s “scoping plan”<\/font><\/a> for AB 32, California’s landmark greenhouse-gas law, is being released June 26 for public comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, California is pursuing a “low-carbon fuel standard”<\/font><\/a> that will push trucking to use more biofuels and eventually hydrogen.  <\/span>Biofuels contain carbon, but it’s “above-ground” carbon, so it doesn’t add to the atmospheric burden of carbon as does extracting fossil fuels from underground.  <\/span>Hydrogen, of course, contains no carbon, though it has been said that it’s the fuel of the future – and always will be.  <\/span>(Personally, I think it’s a matter of economics and human ingenuity – as traditional fuels become more expensive, we will find ways to make hydrogen and other energy sources work.)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Closer to home, and closer to now, state<\/font><\/a> and local port truck regulations are about to take effect, and they will pose immediate practical concerns for trucking companies serving the ports.  <\/span>It is an inescapable fact that the Port of Los Angeles will require companies that receive its concessions to phase in employee drivers, up to 100% in the next five years, while Long Beach will not.  <\/span>If these parallel programs are implemented, in five years a contract truck driver will not be able to drive from Hanjin (a terminal in Long Beach) to Maersk (on the LA side) – a division one attendee referred to as a “new Berlin wall.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Both the state and the ports are making a great deal of funding available to truck owners to assist in the transition to trucks that meet current (2007) new-engine standards.  <\/span>The state funding, from bonds approved by voters in 2006 as part of Proposition 1B, comes with some significant conditions:  <\/span>for example, trucks receiving this funding must operate entirely within California, and fifty percent within its four key trade corridors (Los Angeles-Inland Empire, San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area, and San Diego-Border).  <\/span>Additional port funds will come from dirty truck fees, to be collected beginning in October.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Adding to the uncertain atmosphere for trucking companies, the American Trucking Associations, it was announced, will be filing suit in mid-July over the employee-driver requirement.  <\/span>If this action should result in an injunction against part or all of the ports’ Clean Truck Program, it’s unclear whether the desired rapid turnover of the truck fleet will proceed.  <\/span>Of course, I join the port consultants in the hope they expressed that the truck replacements will go on unimpeded.  <\/span>This reduction in port-related pollution is too important to wait for.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Should you still be hungry for more information, you can find an enlightening side-by-side comparison of the port truck programs and all the conference presentations online here<\/font><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-6036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hi-lo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6036"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=6036"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}