The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will begin collecting a rate of $10 per TEU on loaded import and export cargo containers hauled by drayage trucks as they enter or leave container terminals.
Announced by the Port of Long Beach in November 2021, the collection of the rate will begin 1 April 2022.
The ports have set a goal to achieve zero-emissions drayage trucking by 2035. The Clean Truck Fund (CTF) rate was created to help fund and incentivise the changeover to cleaner trucks.
It will also generate finance – up to $90 million in the first year – to accelerate the development of zero-emissions technology.
Exemptions to the CTF rate will be initially provided for containers hauled by zero-emission trucks and low-nitrogen oxide-emitting (low-NOx) trucks.
To receive the exemption when the rate collection begins, all such trucks must be registered as low-NOx or zero emission in the Port Drayage Truck Registry and complete a one-time vehicle confirmation inspection at the Terminal Access Center.
Phasing out older, more polluting trucks has been key to clean air gains the San Pedro Bay ports have made since the original Clean Truck programs were launched in 2008.
Diesel emissions from trucks have been cut by as much as 97 per cent compared to 2005 levels.
Trucks remain the ports’ largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and the second highest source of nitrogen oxides, a contributor to regional smog formation.
Each port’s tariff requires payment of the CTF rate by cargo owners or their authorised agents, and includes a provision prohibiting payment by drayage truck drivers or operators.
