L.A. ports impose 'clean truck' fee

New program raises costs, restricts access By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, October 6, 2008 HIGH POINT — HIGH POINT – A controversial program aimed at cleaning the polluted air around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. — which receive far more furniture imports than any other North American ports — is likely to raise costs for everyone in the supply chain, logistics experts agree. The program, which took effect Oct. 1, requires a $70 “clean truck” fee on each 40-foot container that is hauled out of the ports by trucks that do not meet strict 2007 emissions standards for diesel-powered vehicles. It also bans any truck built before 1989 from entering the ports at all because the vehicles cannot be retrofitted to meet the standards. By 2012, all trucks not meeting the 2007 standards will be banned, with “clean... [read full story]