ACF spurs small gain in zero-emission drayage trucks at Port of Long Beach

Even with regulators shelving California’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule for at least a few months, the first data released by the Port of Long Beach suggests how the drayage industry was getting ready for its launch at the start of this year.

How the data is interpreted is a classic case of whether the glass is half-full or half-empty.

When the ACF was expected to kick in Jan. 1, with its biggest impact hitting first in the drayage sector, the most significant rule was that no new vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) could be submitted to the state’s drayage registry.

Although the ACF is not being enforced while questions of its legality play out, the Long Beach data shows its impact.

There were 111 zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) registered at the port last July. By January, that had exactly doubled, to 222.

That doubling might argue in favor of a half-full glass for the transition to ZEVs. But the raw numbers of vehicle moves could argue the other way.

In July, 0.5% of all drayage moves within the port were with a ZEV. In January, that figure had more than doubled — but was still just 1.16%. Given the ACF’s anticipated implementation, such increases would be expected.

But the data also supports the expectation that faced with a Dec. 31 deadline after which no new ICE vehicles could be added to the state’s drayage registry, there would be a surge in new registrations of ICE vehicles.

In July, the number of trucks registered with the port was 21,585. It stayed below 22,000 for the next three months but then climbed to 22,267 in November and 24,013 in December. In January, the number declined by 67, to 23,946.

Overall, the growth between July and December was 2,428, so the growth in ZEVs was less than 5% of that increase.

The sharp increase in the number of all trucks available to service the port did not occur against a backdrop of rising demand that could explain such a higher number. The number of moves in October recorded a recent peak at 376,672. But in January, total moves were 331,979, and they had dropped below 300,000 in December.

Source: freightwaves.com