When talking about drayage operations on the West Coast, it’s almost impossible to avoid the 82,000-pound Zero-Emissions California Grizzly Bear in the middle of the room. Beginning with an entry standard for new equipment entering drayage service after Dec. 31, 2023, the CARB Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule, effectively caps the number of internal combustion engine- powered (ICE-powered) drayage trucks that are eligible to work in ports and Class 1 intermodal rail yards in California.
Basically, the ACF rule requires that after Jan. 1, 2024, a fleet cannot expand or replace drayage equipment in a California operation unless the new drivetrain is powered by a battery electric or hydrogen fuel-cell platform. Regrettably, Heavy-Duty Zero-Emissions (HDZE) vehicles can cost five to 10 times as much as their diesel counterparts and, most problematically, do not have enough public fueling options available to support their widespread adoption.
In response to these HDZE deployment challenges, drayage fleets have been procuring familiar ICE equipment ahead of the deadlines to provide a level of steadfast service for their shipper customers. However, it remains to be seen if these efforts to get ahead of the deadlines will completely hit the mark.
If volumes rebound beyond what California gateways are prepared to handle, drayage operators will have limited pathways to respond. This is due primarily to the fact that neither the ZE trucks nor fueling infrastructure can be built and deployed fast enough to meet increased capacity demands yet alone replace the thousands of in-service drayage vehicles that will be retired starting in 2025.
Nevertheless, adapting to regulatory restrictions is always top of mind for drayage operators in California. And while there are lawsuits about ACF in both state and federal courts, absent an immediate resolution on current requirements, fleets will do what is necessary to meet customer needs.