Pacer International of Concord, Calif., announced that its subsidiaries, Pacer Cartage, Harbor Rail Transport, and PDS Trucking, a subsidiary of Pacer Distribution Services, will deploy 230 new clean trucks in their Southern California operations beginning in late November.


The new truck program will allow Pacer customers to minimize their exposure to the clean air fees that have recently been instituted by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach under their Clean Truck Program. The Pacer trucking companies are already compliant with all other Los Angeles and Long Beach port requirements, including the new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) requirements made effective Nov. 10.

The 230 new trucks will be leased to Pacer's owner-operators. Pacer has the option to add 150 more trucks as market conditions warrant. The company will start accepting delivery of the new trucks in late November and plans to have all 230 deployed by the end of this year.

"This is an important step for our customers as well as the local community," said Dan Avramovich, Retail Intermodal Services president for Pacer International. " By deploying the new trucks, Pacer will reduce our customers' exposure to the $35 per TEU [20 foot equivalent unit] fee and meet the ports' new emission standards. Also, as a SmartWay partner, we are very pleased to further reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency of our fleet."