Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a key component of smog, are down an unprecedented 60 percent compared to 2005 emissions levels, their lowest level to date. The 2017 Inventory of Air Emissions released by the Port of Los Angeles shows it set new record lows for emissions reductions while its container volume reached an all-time high of 9.34 million TEUs.

Overall, the 2017 findings show the port has maintained or exceeded the dramatic clean air progress it has made over the last 12 years, and has now met all of its 2023 Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) goals. Diesel particulate matter (DPM) remains down 87 percent, and sulfur oxides (SOx) remain down 98 percent.

“Our port is driving the global economy forward and showing the world how we can produce record-breaking growth and protect the environment at the same time,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Our progress on reducing emissions to just a fraction of our 2005 levels while we ship more cargo than everis proof that our Clean Air Action Plan is working and exceeding expectations.”

“As of this inventory, we’ve hit all our 2023 targets for tackling the primary pollutants associated with port operations during our busiest year ever,” said Harbor Commission President Jaime Lee. “This is great news for our Port, our industry and our community.”

To reduce emissions while also significantly increasing cargo volumes, the port had to reduce the average amount of emissions it generates to move each container. Using this type of measurement, the port also posted its best year ever, lowering the average amount of emissions the port generates to move each container of cargo for all eight pollutants tracked by the port’s emissions inventory, including greenhouse gases (GHG), which were down 30 percent per container on average since 2005.

“We’re seeing the combined benefits of our ongoing clean air strategies and increased efficiencies across the supply chain,” said Port Executive Director Gene Seroka. “The results also validate our focus on further reducing NOx and greenhouse gases going forward.”

Based solely on tonnage, though, GHGs are down only 13 percent, which is a result of the substantial increase in activity in 2017 leading to the record cargo volumes. The port’s best year for reducing tons of GHGs was 2013 when GHG emissions were down 23 percent, a year when TEU volume was still down from its pre-recession peak.

“This is why cleaner technology and increased efficiency matter,” said Chris Cannon, Director of Environmental Management for the Port of Los Angeles. “Greenhouse gases come from burning fuel. The more cargo we move, the more CO2 emissions we generate, and greater the need to switch to cleaner low-carbon based equipment, while continuing to optimize port operations.”

Larger ships carrying more TEUs played a key role in preserving the port’s clean air gains. Container ship calls were down 22 percent while the average number of TEUs per vessel increased 60 percent since 2005. Fewer ship calls also led to fewer harbor craft trips.

The largest ships tend to be new-builds with cleaner engines, another contributor to clean air gains reported in 2017. Additionally, in compliance with California’s progressively stricter shore power requirements, more ships plugged into shore-side electricity instead of burning fuel at berth. Ships that cannot plug in increasingly used alternative technology to capture emissions at berth.

Effective 2017, all ships calling at the port met California and North American Emissions Control Area requirements to use fuel with 0.1 percent or lower sulfur content. More ships also are reducing fuel consumption by slowing down within 40 nautical miles of the Port.

Ongoing turnover of the truck fleet and upgrades of cargo handling equipment with the cleanest available engines also helped hold the line on emissions. More than half of nearly 17,000 drayage trucks calling at the Port in 2017 have 2010 model year or newer engines. Nearly 47 percent of cargo handling equipment – including cranes, tractors and forklifts – have Tier 4 or equivalent diesel engines, the cleanest diesel emission technology on the market.

“The percentage of cargo handling equipment using the cleanest available diesel technology has nearly doubled since 2016,” Cannon said. “That’s an example of how seriously terminal operators, trucking companies and our other partners are investing in new equipment and working with us to achieve our clean air goals.  We look forward to continuing to partner with them using private investment and public funding programs to develop and deploy even cleaner technologies as we move toward new CAAP goals.”

The latest findings are based on data collected during calendar year 2017 and reviewed by regional, state and federal air regulatory agencies. The annual inventory details the impact of all strategies for reducing emissions from port-related sources: ships, locomotives, trucks, cargo handling equipment and harbor craft.

As container throughput increases, the port is working to implement more aggressive strategies to maintain its clean air gains and continue to meet the 2023 goals.

New in the 2017 Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) Update are targets for reducing GHG emissions: 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Strategies for reaching these targets include transitioning the on-road drayage fleet serving the Port to zero-emissions trucks by 2035 and all terminal equipment to zero emissions by 2030. Improving operational efficiencies, deploying advanced technology and managing energy resources are essential to this progress.

Near-term measures for accelerating clean air progress include requiring all trucks entering Port service for the first time to meet 2014 model engine emissions standards. Technology advancements expected to further reduce emissions by improving the flow of cargo include the Port Optimizer™, which gives the supply chain a head start of about two weeks to plan operations and allocate resources for handling inbound cargo.

To advance long-term goals, the port is working with private and public sector partners to test more zero emissions drayage trucks and demonstrate near-zero and zero emissions cargo handling equipment.  The Port launched a number of projects before the 2017 CAAP Update was finalized.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved a proposal by Toyota Logistics Services to redevelop its facility at Pier B and build a renewable energy fuel-cell power plant and hydrogen fueling station.

Toyota operates a marine terminal at the port where new automobiles are off-loaded from ships, processed and transported off-site via truck and railroad. The planned redevelopment would make those operations more efficient.

Construction on the private project is anticipated to begin later this year and be completed in 18 months.

Work will include replacing separate office, car washing, fueling, auto body and other facilities with a new, single building. Plans also call for construction of a 2.3 megawatt fuel-cell power plant and a new fueling station that will include hydrogen.

“Toyota is demonstrating hydrogen fuel as a viable alternative for fueling vehicles,” said Harbor Commission President Tracy Egoscue. “The example they are setting at the Port of Long Beach should be applauded not only by the goods movement industry, but by everyone who wants a sustainable present and future for our planet.”

“Toyota is one of our oldest customers,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “We’ve grown together during a business partnership that’s almost a half-century old, and part of the reason we’ve remained successful is recognizing the need to invest in modernization projects like this to improve our operations.”