Long Beach Modifies Clean Truck Program

“Acting to keep the Port of Long Beach competitive in the current economic downturn, the Board of Harbor commissioners voted Monday April 20, to postpone collection of an Infrastructure Cargo Fee, approved incentives to boost intermodal cargo, modified the Clean Truck Fee to encourage privately financed replacement trucks.”

To minimize costs for customers of the Port of Long Beach, its board voted to defer the Infrastructure Cargo Fee until at least July 1, 2010 and encouraged staff to seek federal stimulus funds.

The port's board also approved reducing the port's wharfage rate for intermodal container cargo. The 10% decrease in fees paid to ship cargo across the docks, is intended as “an incentive for terminal operators to maintain or increase their 'discretionary' cross-country cargo that could be shipped through any of several ports to reach inland destinations.” The port estimated the fee reduction could cost the port up to $11 million.

The port's board also approved a reduction of $20 per twenty-foot-equivalent-unit (TEU) on wharfage fees charged to ocean carriers to bring additional intermodal cargo through Long Beach.

Changes in the Clean Truck Program include eliminating the Clean Truck Fee and scrappage requirements for privately financed clean trucks. It also eliminated the Clean Truck Fee and scrappage requirements for port-funded liquefied natural gas or alternative-fueled trucks. The third change was eliminating the Clean Truck Fee for new trucks funded by gateway cities and for the “first 50 or so” new trucks funded by the Clean Trucks Program./p>

“Only container cargo moved by 2006 and older trucks and clean diesel trucks funded by Port after April 20 will pay the Clean Truck Fee of $35 per 20-foot container and $70 per larger container,” said the release. Charges for a “day pass” were also immediately reduced to $30 per day for out-of-state and infrequent truckers.