LOS ANGELES — They might be acolytes of Al Gore and harbor lofty ideas about ridding the world of air pollution, but it would appear the Port Authorities in California studied business at the Fidel Castro School of Economics.

Officials overseeing this area’s ports have mandated that by October, their massive truck-replacement program will be in full swing. Los Angeles and Long Beach port officials intend to reduce emissions by subsidizing the replacement of about 16,000 short-haul diesel trucks in San Pedro Bay.

Except that the truckers who own said vehicles aren’t going along with it. According to the LA Business Journal, very few companies are going along with the plan, even though it would take several months to convert a fleet, if they were going to comply.

Some truckers are simply confused about the scheme. Others are awaiting a possible court challenge to the plan. The American Trucking Associations might be leading a lawsuit that could derail the big switcheroo to green port vehicles.

“I don’t know of anybody that’s gone out and started gearing up with employee drivers or even company trucks for that matter,” said Brian Griley, president of Southern Counties Express Inc., a Rancho Dominguez-based motor carrier with about 160 trucks in its fleet.

California port authorities are willing to subsidize the
purchase of clean trucks like this LNG-fuelled rig,
but with a number of strings attached.

Not only do the ports want companies to retrofit their engines, they are insisting that truckers who have business in the ports abandon owner-operators and only use company drivers and company vehicles. Truckers are also against the idea of having to open their books to the Port Authorities, who want to ensure the truckers are financially sound. Not only that, but it looks as though the Port Authorities will want to be given sign-off privileges when a trucking company is bought or sold.

Through the program, the ports would subsidize the replacement of standard diesel trucks with a combination of cleaner-burning diesel models and alternative fuel vehicles. One such replacement could cost up to $100,000.

A lawsuit could delay key elements of the program, and if a lawsuit does not materialize or is quickly dismissed, many motor carriers would be unprepared when the program begins.

“It’s definitely a recipe for disaster,” said Kristen Monaco, a trucking expert and professor at California State University Long Beach. “Everyone’s anticipating that the lawsuit will hold everything up for a while. If there’s no lawsuit I think everyone will be shocked and a little unprepared.”