CRT Sets the Record Straight on Industry Efforts to Improve Port Air Quality

LONG BEACH, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
As an organization of shipping industry leaders who have dedicated themselves to
improving the air quality at our nation`s ports, the members of Coalition for
Responsible Transportation (CRT) are investing hundreds of millions of dollars
in clean trucks in the Ports of LA and Long Beach, and at ports across the
country.It has therefore been disappointing, in the wake of the recent legal
settlement between the Port of Long Beach and the American Trucking Association,
to read the assertions made by critics of the shipping community that private
industry is somehow opposed to efforts to improve air quality at ports in
Southern California.

In reality, the track record of the importers, exporters, trucking companies and
ocean lines that comprise CRT tells a very different story.Here are some
important facts to consider regarding the role that leaders in the shipping
community are playing in the effort to improve air quality in Southern
California:

* The shipping industry has been overwhelmingly supportive of the Ports` clean
air goals.In fact, CRT and its member companies were among the earliest industry
stakeholders to publicly support the dirty truck ban that was jointly adopted by
the Ports of LA and Long Beach.The dirty truck ban, which is the most stringent
emissions reduction program of any port in the nation, will prohibit any truck
that does not meet 2007 emissions standards from entering the Port and will
reduce truck emissions by over 80%.Though critics might have you believe
otherwise, the aggressive clean truck requirements championed by Long Beach
Mayor Bob Foster and the Port of Long Beach remain firmly in place, unaffected
by the recent settlement between POLB and ATA.
* As a result of industry efforts, dirty trucks are being taken off the road and
the air is getting cleaner-years ahead of the Ports` very aggressive
timelines.As of mid-September, nearly 5,000 clean trucks - big rigs that meet
2007 federal emissions standards or better - are moving more than half of the
truck-hauled cargo at the Ports of LA and Long Beach.At the current rate of new
truck replacement, it is possible that by January 2010 more than 90 percent of
the cargo moves at Port terminals will be made by trucks meeting the very
highest level of U.S. EPA truck emissions standards. This achievement will allow
the San Pedro Bay ports to meet their 2012 goal of 80 percent emissions
reductions from overall drayage operations three years ahead of schedule.Port of
Long Beach Executive Director Richard D. Steinke recently noted that, "In a few
months, we`ll see nearly all the truck-hauled containers moved by clean trucks,"
and went on to say that "The trucking industry is to be commended for turning
over its truck fleet so rapidly."
* While the Ports have made notable efforts to create incentive programs to help
deploy clean trucks, their limited financial resources have meant that the
overwhelming majority of the cost of truck replacement has been absorbed by the
shipping community through higher trucking rates.However, this is a challenge
that the shipping community has responded to in resounding fashion.CRT was a
pioneer among shipping industry groups in creating a financial model to support
the efforts of trucking companies to finance and deploy clean equipment in
partnership with importers, exporters and ocean carriers.The financial
investment that the shipping community has made in clean truck deploymenthas
been lauded by the leadership of both Ports.In fact, in a recent press release
celebrating the first anniversary of the Clean Truck Program, Mayor Villaraigosa
commended the private sector investment being made at the Ports, saying "We very
much appreciate the support and cooperation of the port trucking companies who
have aggressively accelerated their investment in clean truck fleets."
* The importers, exporters, ocean carriers and trucking companies that comprise
CRT have been as committed to the livelihood of their truck drivers as they have
been to air quality improvement.Our member companies have instituted innovative
practices that have provided the financial support to finance truck replacement
for both employee drivers and for the thousands of small business owners who
serve our port as independent drivers.These programs range from down payment
assistance and forgiveness programs to low interest lease-to-own programs that
provide independent drivers to with a lower truck payment than they would have
been able to find on their own.These newer trucks also help reduce driver
expenses compared to the older trucks they are replacing through increased fuel
efficiency and reliability, and reduced maintenance and repair costs.In this
regard, not only does replacing and old truck benefit air quality, it benefits
the bottom line of the driver too.

Despite the rhetoric of critics who would have you believe that the shipping
community is fighting efforts to clean the air in Southern California, the track
record of industry leaders like CRT and our member companies tells a very
different story.Of course, industry efforts to reduce port emissions don`t end
in Southern California.

CRT has worked with ports around the country to support similar dirty truck
bans, and just announced a partnership with the U.S. EPA to develop a national
SmartWay certification program for port trucks, set benchmarks for air quality
improvement at our nation`s ports, and certify emission reductions that are
achieved through the deployment of clean port trucks.

The air quality around the Ports is being improved through the real solutions,
hard work and significant investment of private industry, not through the empty
rhetoric of those who would have you believe that industry is not doing its
part.

Since its inception in 2007, the Coalition for Responsible Transportation (CRT)
has grown to include leading importers, exporters, trucking companies and ocean
carriers who represent the largest and most progressive customers and service
providers at our nation`s ports.CRT member companies are committed to
responsible stewardship of the environment and to taking leadership roles within
their respective industries in the development of transportation related
environmental initiatives.

CRT`s membership in comprised of national shippers including Target, Best Buy,
Converse, Dunavant Enterprises, Gap Inc., The Home Depot, HP, JC Penney, Lowe`s,
Nike, and Wal-Mart Stores; ocean carriers including NYK Group Companies, Hanjin
Shipping, and "K" Line America; and drayage providers and equipment
manufacturers including California Multimodal, LLC, Container Connection, Evans
Delivery, Green Fleet Systems, GSC Logistics, Intermodal Bridge Transport, PDS
Trucking, Performance Team, Southern Counties Express, Total Transportation
Services, Inc., and Westport.

Coalition for Responsible Transportation
James Jack, 916-813-0839
CRT Executive Director
info@responsibletrans.org
www.responsibletrans.org

Copyright Business Wire 2009