Port of NY/NJ Opens Door to Changing 2017 Clean Trucks Deadline, Averting 'Disaster,' Say Truckers

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is evaluating alternatives to its current Jan. 1, 2017 deadline for phasing out drayage trucks with engines made in 2006 or earlier, offering hope to drayage operators concerned that the port’s current approach could prove a disaster. The Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, which represents drayage companies, says more than 70 percent of the trucks currently serving the port will be denied entry if the Port Authority’s deadline holds (here).

“Alternatives to the current plan to phase out older trucks serving the port, which may affect engine model year access and implementation date(s),” are “currently being evaluated,” said the Port Authority in its Oct. 20 press release (here). The release also announced $2 million in newly available grants for truck replacement, and that the Port Authority is “working closely” with banks to “explore whether low interest loans would be available to the trucking community.”

The 2017 phase-out is the latest stage of the Port Authority of N.Y. & N.J.’s Clean Air Strategy. The first stage in 2011 denied access to all trucks with engines predating 1993. Under a truck replacement program, a combination of federal grants and low-interest loans from the Port Authority helped drayage truckers replace 429 trucks with pre-1993 engines with newer, lower-emissions models equipped with engines made after 2004.

The Port Authority is planning additional grant programs to help truckers meet engine year 2007 requirements that begin in 2017. The $2 million in grants announced on Oct. 20 cover half of each truck’s replacement cost, up to $25,000, with priority given to trucks with 1994 through 1997 engines. That will cover the purchase of 80 new trucks. In its press release, the Port Authority said it expects another $7 million in federal grant funding over the next two years to aid truck replacement ahead of the 2017 deadline.

According to data from the Bi-State Motor Carriers, that would only put a minor dent in the problem. Of the 8,895 trucks that called on the port in August 2015, over 6,000 will be denied entry on Jan. 1, 2017 if the current timeline holds, causing a “crisis” at the Port of New York/New Jersey. Compounding the problem is port congestion caused by increasing cargo volumes, and a driver shortage on the East Coast. Though the association lobbied hard for release of the $2 million in grants, a similar phase-out in 2011 at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach relied on the availability of “hundreds of millions” in grant funding, said Lisa Yakomin, the association’s communications director.

Despite the strict emissions requirements set to take effect at the port, the trucks affected by the ban still meet federal emissions standards, said Yakomin. That means that drayage truckers locked out of the port would simply go elsewhere, instead serving ports such as Baltimore and Philadelphia with their current equipment.

The Port Authority’s announcement that it is considering modifications to its deadline offered the Bi-State Motor Carriers “a glimmer of hope“ that crisis will be averted, said Yakomin. The priority for grants given to trucks with engines from 1994 to 1997 could indicate that “perhaps they’re looking to scale it back to only the oldest trucks,” she said. “We’re certainly hopeful, now that they’ve announced that they’re reviewing the program, that they’re at least are looking at it,” said Yakomin. “They’re acknowledging that this is a problem.” The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey did not comment.