News

Marine Terminal Operators to Implement Dirty Truck Ban but Express Concern to Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports

LONG BEACH, Calif.-(Business Wire)-October 1, 2008 - The members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) announced that beginning today, October 1, individual terminal operators plan to implement a ban on older, polluting trucks under the Clean Trucks Program of the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach.

At the same time, WCMTOA members expressed to the ports their concern that the ports have not completed the preparations necessary for a smooth implementation. Under their program, trucks must be listed in the ports’ Drayage Truck Registry to gain admittance to the ports. The DTR is not yet in place.

As a stopgap, the two ports have begun issuing port-authorized stickers to trucks that have been registered. But as of Tuesday morning, fewer than a third of the trucks arriving at the ports have these stickers. Terminal operators checking trucks found that between 22 percent and 32 percent of trucks had the port-issued stickers.

With more than 36,000 truck moves each day at the marine terminals at the two adjacent ports – amounting to about 40 percent of the nation’s containerized imports and exports – the functioning of the U.S. goods movement system and of the broader U.S. economy depend on having a smooth flow of cargo through the terminals.

Terminal operators will monitor conditions throughout the day, and will confer regularly. If the truck ban produces gridlock on roads in and around the terminals, or if the number of trucks available is not sufficient to meet the need, the terminal operators will immediately bring those concerns to the ports and seek a rapid resolution.

“We have voiced our concerns to the ports about the number of trucks that have received approval to operate in the ports,” said Bruce Wargo, secretary of WCMTOA. “We are concerned that inadequate preparation could lead to gridlock around the ports and a disruption to the flow of national commerce. We will implement the ports’ program beginning today, but will closely monitor the situation, with the ports, and respond as necessary.”

About the Clean Trucks Program

The Clean Trucks Program is part of the Clean Air Action Plans of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which have the goal of reducing emissions of harmful pollutants by 45 percent by 2012. The Clean Trucks Fee is the charge in the ports’ tariff for cargo entering or leaving the port terminals, and will be used to fund the purchase of new, clean trucks through the ports’ grant program.

Under the CTP, all trucks 1988 and older are banned. Trucks 1989 and newer are subject to the fee, with some exceptions. More information on the Clean Trucks Program is available at the ports’ web sites, http://www.polb.com/environment/cleantrucks/default.asp and http://www.portoflosangeles.org/environment/ctp.asp.

Both ports have stated that their programs will start October 1, 2008, including denial of access to all 1988 and older trucks and to those trucks that are not in the Drayage Truck Registry. The ports have also stated that the Clean Truck Fees will be postponed beyond October 1 until the necessary systems are in place.

About WCMTOA

The West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement is filed with the Federal Maritime Commission. Members signatory to the agreement comprise the 13 marine terminal operators serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together form the largest port complex in the United States and the seventh largest in the world. The marine terminal operators are private companies operating under lease agreements at the two ports, which are managed by the cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

WCMTOA Members include:

APM Terminals Pacific Ltd.		California United Terminals, Inc.
Eagle Marine Services, Ltd.		International Transportation Service, Inc.
Long Beach Container Terminal		TraPac, Inc.
Yusen Terminals, Inc.		Seaside Transportation Service LLC
Total Terminals LLC		West Basin Container Terminal LLC
Pacific Maritime Services, L.L.C.		SSA Terminal (Long Beach), LLC
SSA Terminals, LLC