As truckers increasingly invest in alternative-fuel vehicles, Los Angeles County has become the hottest market for heavy-duty liquefied natural gas, or LNG, trucks in the country.
The catalyst: the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach’s joint Clean Truck Program, which is forcing truckers to replace old rigs with newer ones emitting less pollution. Within the last year, 500 LNG trucks have started servicing the ports, with orders to almost double that to about 1,000 by the middle of next year.
“Los Angeles is definitely the testing ground for developing heavy-duty trucks using LNG,” said Robert Carrick, western region vocational manager for Portland, Ore.-based Freightliner Trucks, which shipped 335 LNG trucks to harbor companies last year, with orders for an additional 100. “LNG sales are less than 1 percent of our sales, but we custom made the heavy-duty model for L.A. demand.”
Local drayage companies were enticed to buy the trucks through incentives by state and local agencies, estimated at around $125 million total. They include larger firms such as Wilmington-based Cal Cartage and Rancho Dominguez’s Southern Counties Express, which even installed the port area’s first LNG refueling station at its headquarters.
“Thanks to all the subsidies, we were able to green our fleet,” said Robert Curry, owner of Cal Cartage, which has 136 LNG trucks. “It’s been no extra burden to take them on.”
However, the program has not gone entirely smoothly.
Other trucking firms, such as Phoenix-based Knight Transportation Inc., have not yet bought LNG trucks, citing their lower power, and higher purchase and fuel costs. LNG trucks can cost as much as $170,000, which is $70,000 more than a new diesel truck that meets federal low-emission standards. The firms also note there are only two LNG refueling stations in the area, including the one opened by Southern Counties, that all trucks can use.
There also have been reports that truckers hauling cargo have had their engines shut down on the freeway.
Port of Los Angeles spokesman Phillip Sanfield said the port was aware of the reports, but after investigating determined that the propulsion system was not the cause. Rather, he said, the problem was traced to an aftermarket global positioning system-based vehicle locating system that had been improperly installed, killing the battery.
Still, some trucking firms have not as yet bought any of the trucks, waiting for all the kinks to be smoothed out.
“In theory, we like what the LNGs stand for: independence from foreign oil and cleaning up the environment by cutting emissions,” said David R. Williams, vice president of equipment & maintenance for Knight, which has 177 trucks servicing the harbor. “But right now, it just doesn’t make sense to invest until some of these issues are resolved.”
Covina Goes Biking
A Long Beach company that develops commuter bike stations will soon open one in Covina that could serve as a model for 200 other sites around the country.
Scheduled to open by Christmas, the Bikestation at the city’s Metrolink stop is the 13th for Mobis Transportation Alternatives Inc. since it its first facility opened 13 years ago along the Blue Line.
The Bikestation Secure Bike Module is being informally dubbed the “Bikestation-in-a-box” by Mobis Chief Executive Andrea White-Kjoss because it only offers about 250 square feet of secure storage for up to 36 bikes.
In contrast, many of the company’s other facilities include showers and even bike repair areas. However, White-Kjoss said that the station provides the most critical service.
“The new bike modules overcome a top concern people have that keep them from using their bikes – theft,” she said, in a statement.
Most Bikestation facilities require an annual membership, which costs $100 and allows access through a card to the secured bike lot and shower facilities. Those using the station less frequently can purchase 10-day passes for $10 each.
Bikestation is planning on opening another station in Claremont early next year, and has plans for 200 nationwide by 2015.
CEOs Jolt Car Movement
Two local chief executives whose companies have been working on electric vehicle projects have joined a new national task force of business leaders pushing alternative transportation.
Timothy E. Conver, chairman and chief executive of Monrovia’s AeroVironment Inc., and Kevin Czinger, chief executive of Coda Automotive of Santa Monica, have joined the Electrification Coalition, a 13-member panel of mostly chief executive at transportation-related companies such as Nissan and FedEx.
AeroVironment is working on battery charging stations and Coda manufactures an all-electric sedan.
“Participating in the coalition is an important aspect of our approach to enabling the successful, broad adoption of electric vehicles,” Conver said.
The non-profit coalition describes itself as a nonpartisan organization that will promote policies and actions supporting electric vehicle deployment.
The coalition debuted last week, releasing a “road map” for the rollout of electric vehicles and infrastructure. It includes a nationwide goal to have electric vehicles account for 75 percent of car miles by 2040.
Staff reporter Francisco Vara-Orta can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 241.
