Ports Briefs: Reduced Cargo at POLB and Ports Release Final Drayage Truck Feasibility Assessment

Port of Long Beach Sees Reduced Cargo

LONG BEACH — POLB reports that softened consumer spending, increased prices driven by inflation and a shift in trade routes contributed to a dip in shipments moving through the Port of Long Beach in January.

Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 573,772 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, down 28.4% from January 2022, which was the port’s busiest January on record. Imports decreased 32.3% to 263,394 TEUs and exports declined 14.2% to 105,623 TEUs. Empty containers moving through the port were down 29% to 204,755 TEUs.

Economists say inflation is slowing for purchased goods and may offset rising prices for services, largely depending on how the Federal Reserve adjusts interest rates this year.

San Pedro Bay Ports Release Final Drayage Truck Feasibility Assessment

The ports of  Los Angeles and Long Beach have released a final report on the state and overall feasibility of using clean, heavy-duty drayage truck technology throughout the San Pedro Bay port complex.

The final 2021 feasibility assessment for drayage trucks can be downloaded from the Clean Air Action Plan or CAAP website at: https://cleanairactionplan.org/strategies/trucks  

The ports released a draft assessment in August 2022 for public review and comment. The 2021 assessment builds upon the inaugural 2018 assessment and examines the state of technology, operational characteristics, economic considerations, infrastructure availability and commercial readiness related to zero-emissions or ZE and low-emissions drayage trucks. The final report addresses feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders.

The 2017 CAAP update established goals of ZE drayage trucks by 2035 and ZE terminal equipment by 2030. The ports have committed to developing feasibility assessments every three years to inform a joint approach to meeting those goals.

Currently, the ports are demonstrating 91 pieces of terminal equipment, including ZE yard tractors, top handlers, forklifts and rubber-tired gantry cranes and Class 8 on-road trucks — including hybrid, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies — with additional terminal equipment and on-road trucks to be commissioned by the end of the year.

The 2017 CAAP Update calls for the ports to reduce greenhouse gasses to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.