The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles say they are discontinuing their respective $35/TEU clean truck fees beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The fees, which had been in place since 2009, are currently charged to drayage trucks that were built in 2006 or earlier and haven’t been retrofitted.
But as of the start of the New Year, trucks that don’t meet 2007 Federal Clean Truck Emissions Standards are banned from operating at both ports, thereby making the fee unnecessary.
As of 2011, 2006 model year engine and older trucks are only performing about two percent of total drayage moves, according to the ports.
Under the two ports’ clean trucks programs, late model rigs have been progressively banned from port service. When fully implemented in 2012, the ports say they expect truck emissions to be reduced by more than 80 percent from pre-program levels.
The PortCheck system, which administers the fees, is expected to remain open during January 2012 to refund Clean Truck Fees that were deposited in accounts but haven’t been spent. The ports are advising customers to request any refunds that may be due no later than Jan. 15, 2012, or else the funds could be forfeited as unclaimed deposits.
