California Air Resources Board

On April 28, 2023, CARB approved the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation (ACF), which includes Drayage Truck Requirements for drayage trucks transporting cargo to and from California’s intermodal seaports and railyards.

• The ACF Drayage Truck Requirements will help meet the State’s multiple risk reduction, air quality, and climate goals.
• The ACF Drayage Truck Requirements will also help meet the directive of Executive Order (EO) N‑79‑20, which set a goal for 100 percent zero-emission drayage trucks in the State by 2035.

The ACF drayage truck reporting deadline is December 31, 2023. The CARB Online System mentioned below is the Truck Regulation Upload, Compliance, and Reporting System (TRUCRS). Additional information is available for registering your drayage truck(s) at Registration & Reporting. Please subscribe to receive additional updates directly.

Background

• Drayage trucks are in-use class 7 and 8 on-road vehicles that transport containers and bulk goods to and from seaports and intermodal railyards. Land ports of entry, which provide controlled entry to or departure from the United States, are not considered seaports or intermodal railyards.
• Combustion powered drayage trucks emit multiple air pollutants including particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NO_X), and greenhouse gases (GHG).
• These trucks contribute to the toxic and harmful emissions impacting surrounding communities, many of which are environmental justice and Assembly Bill 617 communities that bear a disproportionate health burden.
• Beginning January 1, 2023, drayage trucks must be compliant with the Truck and Bus Regulation and meet a 2010 or newer model year engine standard.
• As of December 31, 2022, there were over 140,000 drayage trucks with 2010 or newer model year engines registered in the CARB drayage truck registry.
• Approximately 33,500 drayage trucks service California's seaports and railyards annually, of which approximately 28,700 are trucks that visit California's seaports and intermodal railyards an average of 2 or more times per week or 112 times per year.
• Despite the progress made in reducing air pollution, additional drayage truck emission reductions are needed.
  • Emissions reductions will further protect communities from near-source pollution impacts and help California meet local and national ambient air quality standards and climate goals.

Purpose of the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation - Drayage Truck Requirements

• Expand public health and environmental benefits by increasing the use of zero-emission technology.
• Provide PM and NO_X emission reductions to help attain regional and federal air quality standards.
• Provide GHG emission reductions to help meet the State’s GHG targets and climate goals.
• Accelerate the market for zero-emission trucks.
• Support the comprehensive statewide strategy to reduce emissions from freight transportation.

Key Elements of the Requirements

Zero-Emission Drayage Truck Requirements

• To reach California’s ongoing goals of reducing tailpipe emissions drayage trucks will be required to begin implementation of zero-emission technology beginning in 2024, with full implementation by 2035.

Drayage Truck Registration Requirements

• All drayage trucks intending to begin or continue operations at a California seaport or intermodal railyard must be registered with CARB.
  • Combustion powered trucks (non-zero-emission) must register in the CARB Online System by 12/31/23.
  • Only zero-emission drayage trucks can register in the CARB Online System beginning 1/1/24.
• Beginning in 2035, all drayage trucks in the CARB Online System will be required to be zero-emission.

Regulatory Flexibilities

• Non-Repairable Vehicle: Legacy drayage trucks that are not repairable due to an accident may be replaced by a non-zero-emission vehicle with an engine that is the same or newer model year and remain in compliance until the non-repairable vehicle would have reached its minimum useful life threshold.
• Vehicle Delivery Delay Extension: If drayage truck owners or controlling parties have placed an order for a zero-emission vehicle prior to the applicable compliance date but the zero-emission vehicle cannot be delivered due to reasons beyond their control, they may request a compliance extension until a zero-emission vehicle they have ordered is received.
• Infrastructure Delay Extensions: The drayage truck owner or controlling party may request an extension if they experience delays due to circumstances beyond their control on a project to install zero-emission vehicle fueling infrastructure.

Removing Combustion-Powered Drayage Trucks from Service

• Non-zero-emission drayage trucks in the CARB Online System, with a 2010 or newer model year engine AND that visit a seaport or intermodal railyard at least once in a year, would remain in the system until the earlier of 18 years or 800,000 miles, or a minimum of 13 years if the drayage truck has over 800,000 miles.
• Beginning in 2025, non-zero-emission trucks will be removed from the CARB Online System if they did not meet the annual visit requirement, OR if they have exceeded their minimum useful life requirements.
• On January 1, 2035, all non-zero-emission drayage trucks will be removed from the system.
• Foreign drayage trucks operating in California are not exempt from these requirements and will also need to reduce tailpipe emissions by implementing zero-emission technology by 2035. The phase-in timeline requirements for drayage trucks will allow legacy drayage trucks to continue providing services until infrastructure is built that will support cross-border drayage activities. Foreign drayage trucks were also not exempt from previous Drayage Truck Regulation requirements.

Drayage Truck Activities Impact to Disadvantaged Communities

• The seaports and intermodal railyards that are required to comply with the existing 2007 Drayage Truck Regulation are all located within about 1 mile of a disadvantaged community, as categorized by the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA).
  • CalEPA uses CalEnviroscreen to score California communities based on environmental pollution burden and socio-economic indicators.
• As a result of their closeness to emissions from drayage activity, the communities near seaports and intermodals railyards bear a disproportionate health burden. This emphasizes the need for CARB to help minimize the health impacts caused by drayage trucks.

Available Zero-Emission Drayage Truck Technology

A zero-emission vehicle means an on-road vehicle with a drivetrain that produces zero exhaust emissions of any criteria pollutant (or precursor pollutant) or greenhouse gas under any possible operational modes or conditions. Two types of common zero-emission vehicles include battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks.

• Battery electric drayage truck. This vehicle runs on electricity stored in batteries and has an electric motor rather than an internal combustion engine. To recharge the battery pack, drayage truck owners may rely on publicly accessible chargers or at private facilities.
• Hydrogen fuel cell electric drayage truck. This vehicle runs on compressed hydrogen fed into a fuel cell “stack” that produces electricity to power the vehicle. Owners of hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks may refuel via publicly accessible or private fueling stations.

For more information on funding available for commercially available drayage tractors, visit Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP).

Vehicle Turnover Resulting from the Truck and Bus Regulation

• As of December 2022, there are over 140,500 trucks in the CARB Drayage Truck Registry with 2010 or newer model year engines.
  • About 51,500 are California based in-state drayage trucks.
  • About 89,000 are out of state drayage trucks.
• Approximately 33,500 drayage trucks service California’s seaports and intermodal railyards annually, of which 28,700 are trucks that visit California’s seaports and intermodal railyards an average of 2 or more times per week or 112 times per year.
• Estimated number of zero-emission drayage trucks resulting from ACF requirements; drayage trucks only and not the total number of zero-emission trucks that will result from ACF requirements:
  • 2024: ~1,000 trucks
  • 2025: ~3,000 trucks
  • 2030: ~24,000 trucks
  • 2035: ~35,000 trucks

Drayage Truck Emissions Compared to Locomotive Emissions

• Drayage trucks and locomotives (trains) move similar types of freight.
• Below is an example of drayage truck emissions compared to emissions from trains moving the same amount of freight.
  • The Draft Truck vs. Train Emissions Analysis contains detailed information about these comparisons.

Truck vs. Train comparison of PM_2.5 and NO_X emissions within 20 miles of the Ports

Next Steps

• More information about the ACF and upcoming meetings and events is available at Advanced Clean Fleets.
• CARB expects zero-emission trucks and supporting fueling or charging infrastructure will meet the needs of all drayage operations by 2035. CARB is working closely with California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz), California Energy Commission (CEC), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Transportation Commission (CTC) California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), California Department of General Services (DGS), and local agencies and utilities in the State to ensure this goal of reducing tailpipe emissions is a success. Information about zero-emission fueling infrastructure is available at Infrastructure Resources.
• Information about funding is available at On-Road Heavy-Duty Funding Opportunities.

This document is provided to assist regulated entities in complying with the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation. In the event any discrepancy exists between this document and the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, the regulatory text of the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation applies.