Companies Take Delivery of Clean-Diesel Trucks
J. C. Penney Co. Inc. and PDS Trucking, Inc., a subsidiary of Pacer Distribution Services, Inc., have taken a major step toward achieving their goal to convert 100 percent of the truck fleet handling JCPenney imports at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to low-emissions, clean-diesel technology.
On Dec. 9, the companies announced the delivery of more than 20 new Kenworth T-800 tractors that will replace aging diesel trucks currently in use by independent owner-operators in Pacer's port network.
"We're committed to clearing the air around the ports by putting clean trucks on the road as quickly as we can," said Marie Lacertosa, senior vice president and director of logistics for JCPenney.
Kent Prokop, president of PDS Trucking, added: "We are very pleased to be supporting our customer JCPenney and the Coalition for Responsible Transportation (CRT) in their efforts to reduce emissions by adding clean trucks to our owner-operator fleet. Pacer will be taking delivery of up to 230 of these trucks by early 2009."
As members of CRT, JCPenney and Pacer have committed to sponsoring the fleet conversion to support the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports' 2012 air quality goals. The companies expect the fleet hauling JCPenney merchandise to meet the ports' emissions goals by early 2009, well ahead of the ports' deadlines, while also helping to preserve the livelihoods of independent owner-operators in the port trucking community.
The voluntary truck replacement program is based on a leasing model providing owner-operators with new, clean trucks through a private-sector financial arrangement. The financing model represents an innovative and cost-effective way for the private sector to meet recently adopted goals for the retirement of pre-2007 diesel trucks at the Ports of LA and Long Beach.
Independent owner-operators will begin using the trucks in early December to move containers of JCPenney merchandise out of the ports, where a substantial portion of the retailer's apparel, home furnishings, footwear, and accessories arrive from the Asia-Pacific region. The new T-800 trucks, with a 38-inch Aero sleeper, are powered by a Cummins ISX clean-diesel engine capable of operating on ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel or B20 biodiesel. Each clean-diesel truck with the Cummins ISX engine reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 78 percent and particulate matter emissions by 90 percent compared with a typical truck it replaces.