Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Propane group criticizes California plan to ban internal combustion forklifts

California Air Resources Board is set to vote on policy on June 27.

propane Screenshot 2024-05-30 at 1.18.20 PM.png

As the California Air Resources Board (CARB) nears a June 27 vote on whether to mandate that internal-combustion forklifts across the state be replaced with battery-electric versions, a fossil fuel industry group is opposing the policy on the grounds that it would be more expensive than planned.

CARB, which monitors air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, says that “accelerating the transition to zero-emission technologies, where feasible, is an important component” of its strategy. That is particularly true for equipment in the off-road sector, which includes the approximately 100,000 forklifts operating in California, principally in manufacturing and freight facilities such as warehouses, distribution centers, and ports, CARB says.


More broadly, the state has already set a target to sell only zero-emission new cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks by 2035. And its Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation requires a phased-in transition toward the sale of 100% zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2045.

Many logistics industry businesses have already begun making the investments to comply with those pending rules, reports show. But according to fuel industry group the Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA), the transition could be more expensive than expected.

Calling the policy “costly, infeasible, and flawed,” the WPGA has produced an economic impact report finding that a CARB regulation to eliminate internal combustion engine (ICE) forklifts would cost California forklift owners and operators up to $27 billion. That figure includes increased costs and direct impacts to local communities, small businesses, food banks and nonprofits, state agencies, and local governments, the group said.

Today the group sent a petition to CARB signed by nearly 800 people with “significant concerns” about the proposal. “Considering the regulatory authority of the Board and the scope of this rule, we have asked that [CARB] seriously consider how their decision will have real-word negative impacts across the state. Sadly, they seem unwilling to consider the ramifications,” Colin Sueyres, President & CEO of the Western Propane Gas Association, said in a release. “The petition signed by hundreds of Californians demonstrates that businesses from a range of industries throughout the state are very concerned about the impacts of CARB’s proposed rule. Unfortunately, to date CARB has not modified the rule so that it will be workable and we are nearing the point where the consequences will be irreversible.” 

Among its complaints, the petition states that the CARB estimate of 95,000 forklifts that would be affected is too low, and that the rule would actually impact some 220,000 forklifts, which represents more than half of all forklifts in California. In addition, WPGA says that electric charging infrastructure does not currently exist; that the forklift replacement technology is cost prohibitive; and that the proposed rule does not reach its goal to establish a “fair and level playing field” among fleet operators, forklift manufacturers, forklift dealers, and forklift rental agencies.
   

 

 

 

 

Recent

More Stories

An image of planes circling a globe with lit up nodes. The globe is encircled by stacks of containers and buildings.

Navigating global turbulence

If you feel like your supply chain has been continuously buffeted by external forces over the last few years and that you are constantly having to adjust your operations to tact through the winds of change, you are not alone.

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP’s) “35th Annual State of Logistics Report” and the subsequent follow-up presentation at the CSCMP EDGE Annual Conference depict a logistics industry facing intense external stresses, such as geopolitical conflict, severe weather events and climate change, labor action, and inflation. The past 18 months have seen all these factors have an impact on demand for transportation and logistics services as well as capacity, freight rates, and overall costs.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

image of laptops and cables to suggest computer hackers

TSA rule would require cyber risk management for railroads

The federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) yesterday proposed to mandate cyber risk management and reporting requirements for certain surface transportation owners and operators, including those running pipelines and railroads.

The notice of proposed rulemaking suggests a new standard that would require that:

Keep ReadingShow less
DHL online shopper report

DHL report shows seven factors about American online shoppers

Online merchants should consider seven key factors about American consumers in order to optimize their sales and operations this holiday season, according to a report from DHL eCommerce.

First, many of the most powerful sales platforms are marketplaces. With nearly universal appeal, 99% of U.S. shoppers buy from marketplaces, ranked in popularity from Amazon (92%) to Walmart (68%), eBay (47%), Temu (32%), Etsy (28%), and Shein (21%).

Keep ReadingShow less
storm track forecast map hurricane rafael

Louisiana and Texas watch Hurricane Rafael approach

Gulf Coast businesses in Louisiana and Texas are keeping a watchful eye on the latest storm to emerge from the Gulf Of Mexico this week, as Hurricane Rafael nears Cuba.

The island nation today is bracing for storm surge, high winds, and destructive waves, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Keep ReadingShow less
white house

Business groups push back on Trump tariff plan

In the face of campaign pledges by Donald Trump to boost tariffs on imports, many U.S. business interests are pushing back on that policy plan following Trump’s election yesterday as president-elect.

U.S. firms are already rushing to import goods before the promised tariff increases take effect, to avoid potential cost increases. That’s because tariffs are paid by the domestic companies that order the goods, not by the foreign nation that makes them.

Keep ReadingShow less