The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have received an award from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for the ports’ Clean Truck Fund (CTF) initiative.

The programme helps fund and incentivise the changeover to cleaner trucks serving the San Pedro Bay port complex, and is part of the ports’ broader efforts to achieve zero-emissions drayage trucking by 2035.

Created to help accelerate the development of zero-emission (ZE) technology, the CTF collects a rate of $10 per TEU on loaded import and export cargo containers hauled by drayage trucks as they enter or leave container terminals. Rate collection began in April 2022.

Through its first 24 months at the two ports, the CTF collected a total of $153.7 million, funds which are being allocated to support incentives for the purchase of ZE drayage trucks and related charging infrastructure.

The CTF programme builds on the ports’ original Clean Truck Program approved in 2008, which mandated the phase-out of older, more polluting trucks serving the San Pedro Bay port complex. Since that time, air pollution from trucks at the complex is down more than 90 per cent.

“The communities of Southern California deserve the cleanest fleet of drayage trucks in the world, and the San Pedro Bay ports are committed to that goal,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Bobby Olvera Jr.

“We thank the Southern California Association of Governments for recogniSing the ports’ noteworthy efforts to transition to zero-emissions trucks.”

“The Clean Truck Fund allows the ports to move forward aggressively to decarbonise goods movement, by financially supporting the purchase of cleaner trucks and creation of the supporting infrastructure,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero.

“As we bring clean air benefits throughout the region, we’re grateful for this honor from SCAG.”

Moreover, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, Gene Seroka, said: “We appreciate the recognition of our efforts to incentivize zero-emission truck manufacturing, as well as support trucking companies’ transition from diesel to cleaner technologies.

“Together with private industry, we are working to help make these future trucks commercially available and affordable.”

Just recently, the Port of Los Angeles and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced it will begin construction on a $130 million transportation project.