California’s ambitious zero-emission regulations are creating turmoil in the trucking and heavy-duty vehicle industry, leading to truck shortages, escalating costs, and business closures, according to industry leaders.
The state’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation, which mandates a gradual increase in the sale of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) like electric or hydrogen trucks, aims to eliminate traditional combustion truck sales by 2036. However, critics argue these policies are crippling businesses and driving economic instability.
Anthony Bento, chief legal officer for the California New Car Dealers Association, highlighted the immediate impact of these rules. “These rules are decreasing product availability, and when there’s less product available, there’s increasing costs,” Bento stated. He warned that both consumers and businesses are shouldering the financial burden of reduced truck availability.
Mark Baatz, owner of Tow Industries in Los Angeles, explained that the towing industry is particularly hard-hit. “There isn’t an electric truck that works for us at this time,” he said. His company expects to see a drastic reduction in available diesel trucks, dropping from 600 sales last year to an estimated 30–50 next year.
Industry representatives report that many businesses are being forced to either source non-compliant trucks out of state, leave California altogether, or delay fleet upgrades.
Brian Banks, owner of Action Towing and Road Service, expressed his concerns at a recent California Air Resources Board (CARB) meeting. “At this point, there is no application that will work in our industry. I ask the board to please reconsider the regulations,” he said.
Ashley Porter, sales manager at Tec Equipment, noted the devastating toll on her clients. “Certain businesses don’t have the resources to meet the requirements,” Porter said, adding that the regulations could harm the California economy for years.
CARB has defended the ACT regulation, releasing a fact sheet to dispel misconceptions. The agency argues that national supply chain disruptions and manufacturer preparedness, not the ACT, are to blame for truck shortages.
CARB’s executive officer Steven Cliff pointed to rising ZEV costs in California, contrasting them with price declines in Europe, as a puzzling disparity.
Despite these assertions, Bento contends that the decline in truck availability, particularly for heavy-duty Class 8 vehicles, is unique to California and cannot be attributed to national factors.
Critics argue that the ACT and other regulations, like the Heavy-Duty Low NOx rule requiring significant emissions reductions by 2031, are undermining California’s environmental goals.
Businesses unable to comply with ZEV mandates are resorting to older, more polluting vehicles, potentially reversing progress on air quality.
As the trucking industry braces for further challenges, calls for policy amendments or exemptions continue to grow.