A push for lower emissions from heavy-duty trucks, coupled with grants from state and localities in order to meet Southern California’s air-quality standards, are prompting interest in and sales of new trucks in the region, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported Monday.
New air quality regulations have made emissions a prime feature for the estimated 14,000 drivers hauling goods in and out of the sprawling Long Beach-Los Angeles seaport, the paper reported.
The change in attitude about emissions has been prompted by recent clean-air proposals by port authorities, and the pending changes could mean a windfall in new truck sales in the near future, the Press-Telegram said.
Under pressure from community groups concerned about pollution, port commissioners are seeking to ban access to marine terminals by the most-polluting rigs — those built before 1990 — starting Jan. 1, the paper reported.
By 2012, all harbor drayage trucks would need to meet the revamped 2007 EPA emissions standards, either through vehicle replacement or, in the case of trucks built after 1994, through retrofits with diesel particulate filters.
If the plan withstands potential legal challenges by the trucking industry, many of the estimated 16,000 trucks currently doing business in the harbor will be phased out in the next five years, the paper said.
Economists put the cost of such a fleet turnover at more than $1.5 billion, nearly half of which is expected to come from grants provided by public agencies, the Press-Telegram reported.
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