The California Air Resources Board’s order of all Class 7 drayage trucks to meet the same emission standards that have been in effect for larger Class 8 trucks is intended to close loopholes in the state’s clean-truck regulations, the Journal of Commerce reported.
Also, the practice of dray-offs —–using a compliant truck to pull a container from a port or rail yard and then transferring the container to a non-compliant truck outside of the facility — is now illegal in California.
“The Drayage Truck Regulation is part of ARB’s ongoing efforts to reduce emissions and health risks from diesel-fueled engines and improve air quality associated with goods movement,” the board stated on its Web site.
Some drayage companies over the past year were using older, polluting Class 7 trucks to move empty containers and chassis to and from port facilities. These smaller vehicles (26,001 to 33,000 pounds) generally can not pull fully-loaded containers, so they were left out of the original clean-truck regulations.
Compliant motor carriers told authorities that operators of Class 7 trucks were cutting into their business with their non-compliant trucks, so CARB announced that it would require that those trucks adhere to the same guidelines as Class 8 trucks. That regulation is now implemented.
Also, the new dray-off rule prohibits all dray-offs at port and rail yards, including hauling empty containers and bare chassis.
Also, the practice of dray-offs —–using a compliant truck to pull a container from a port or rail yard and then transferring the container to a non-compliant truck outside of the facility — is now illegal in California.
“The Drayage Truck Regulation is part of ARB’s ongoing efforts to reduce emissions and health risks from diesel-fueled engines and improve air quality associated with goods movement,” the board stated on its Web site.
Some drayage companies over the past year were using older, polluting Class 7 trucks to move empty containers and chassis to and from port facilities. These smaller vehicles (26,001 to 33,000 pounds) generally can not pull fully-loaded containers, so they were left out of the original clean-truck regulations.
Compliant motor carriers told authorities that operators of Class 7 trucks were cutting into their business with their non-compliant trucks, so CARB announced that it would require that those trucks adhere to the same guidelines as Class 8 trucks. That regulation is now implemented.
Also, the new dray-off rule prohibits all dray-offs at port and rail yards, including hauling empty containers and bare chassis.