Long Beach signs zero-emission truck route

The Port of Long Beach, The Wonderful Company and Lincoln Transportation Services signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday to develop what the port called the world’s first port-powered Green Truck Corridor between Long Beach and California’s Central Valley. The agreement, announced May 12, is aimed at shifting freight on one of the state’s busiest trade lanes from diesel trucks to zero-emission vehicles while building the charging network needed to support them. Port CEO Noel Hacegaba signed the MOU with Joe Vargas, president of Wonderful Real Estate Development, and Jose Cardenas, chief executive of Lincoln Transportation Services. The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners authorized the agreement in a unanimous vote shortly before the signing ceremony. ### Which companies actually signed the agreement, and what did they commit to? The May 12 agreement was signed by the Port of Long Beach, The Wonderful Company and Lincoln Transportation Services, according to the port. The MOU lays out a framework for the parties to collaborate on a freight corridor linking the San Pedro Bay port complex with inland logistics hubs in the Central Valley. (polb.com) The port said the goal is to support development of a zero-emission truck route that would connect cargo moving through Long Beach with Wonderful’s inland operations and Lincoln’s trucking network. The agreement does not, by itself, mandate a construction schedule or a fixed spending commitment, but it sets out joint work on corridor development, charging infrastructure and truck fleet transition. (polb.com) ### Why this route between Long Beach and the Central Valley? More than 300,000 TEUs of imports and exports move each year between the San Pedro Bay ports complex and the southern Central Valley, the Port of Long Beach said. The port described that lane as one of the nation’s busiest truck routes for global trade, tying the harbor to California agricultural and distribution centers. (polb.com) The Shafter logistics hub is central to that plan. The port said the Wonderful Logistics Center is a 2,000-acre master-planned logistics center along the BNSF Railway main line in Shafter, in Kern County, about 150 miles from the Port of Long Beach. That places the project on a route used to move imported consumer goods inland and agricultural products back toward export channels. (polb.com) ### What infrastructure has to be built for electric trucks to run this lane? Charging is the main near-term requirement. The Long Beach Post reported that port officials, Wonderful executives and trucking partners said the corridor plan includes charging infrastructure and operational changes meant to speed the move to electric fleets between the harbor and inland distribution sites. (polb.com) The port has already tied its clean-truck program to zero-emission adoption. Collection of the Clean Truck Fund rate began on April 1, 2022, and the port says containers hauled by zero-emission trucks can qualify for exemptions from that rate after eligibility review. The port’s Clean Trucks Program, launched in 2008, cut truck emissions by more than 90% when fully implemented in 2012, according to the port. (lbpost.com) A January 2024 port update showed Long Beach was already working with partners on truck charging sites near the harbor, including a 4Gen charging facility. The new corridor extends that effort beyond port gates to a longer inland route, where charging location, truck dwell time and yard operations become part of the planning. ### Who said what at the signing? (polb.com) Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in the port release that the corridor showed the city could “advance our economy and reduce our emissions at the same time.” Harbor Commission President Frank Colonna said Lincoln and Wonderful were participating in the port’s first corridor dedicated to green trucks. (polb.com) Joe Vargas, Jose Cardenas and Noel Hacegaba were the named signatories at the ceremony. The port said the agreement is intended to connect port operations, inland logistics capacity and emerging zero-emission trucking opportunities in what it described as a more coordinated goods-movement system. ### How does this fit into Long Beach’s broader clean-truck push? (polb.com) The Port of Long Beach has separate long-term targets for zero-emission cargo handling and drayage. A 2022 port update said Long Beach was working toward all zero-emission cargo-handling equipment by 2030 and a zero-emission drayage truck fleet by 2035. The port has also expanded funding and policy support around that transition. (polb.com) In February 2025, it announced $57.4 million in incentive programs for cleaner cargo-handling equipment and harbor craft, and in 2023 it received a $383.35 million state grant package for zero-emissions and cargo-efficiency projects. The corridor agreement adds a named inland route and private-sector partners to that broader effort. (polb.com) The next step is corridor development under the MOU signed May 12. The port said the agreement is an early-stage framework for planning future infrastructure and operations between Long Beach and the Central Valley, with Wonderful’s Shafter logistics center and Lincoln Transportation Services named as key participants in that work. (polb.com 1) (polb.com 2)