Ports of the Americas

Special Report

Limited mileage range putting the brakes on drayage EV adoption

By Bill Mongelluzzo

Advances in electric truck technology are making zero-emission vehicles more viable for container drayage, but operators say demand in the sector will only take off if the driving range of electric vehicle( EV) trucks is extended beyond the current limit of about 200 miles.

The 200-mile mark is significant because most drayage operators need to run trucks at least 500 miles per day to make sufficient turns to cover their operating costs. While EVs are cheaper to operate than conventional diesel-burning trucks, they cost nearly twice as much to purchase at approximately $ 300,000 per rig.

“ At the end of the day, that’ s what’ s going to drive EV truck sales. Diesel fuel is not getting any cheaper,” said Matt Schrap, the newly appointed CCO of Forum Mobility, which builds electric charging infrastructure, and former CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association( HTA), which represents drayage carriers on the US West Coast.

Many drayage operators who shuttle containers back and forth between ports and distribution warehouses cannot achieve the two turns they need per day before recharging, current HTA CEO Robert Loya told the Journal of Commerce. He added, however, that Tesla is developing an electric heavy-duty truck with a range of up to 500 miles, which would make the vehicle commercially viable for most drayage operators.

“ We as an industry support the move towards EVs,” Loya said.“ But the 150- to 200-mile range; is that realistic?”

New electric trucks cost upwards of $ 300,000, but they are cheaper to operate than traditional diesel vehicles. Shutterstock. com

Other improvements are also needed, such as the ability to handle larger, heavier payloads such as agricultural products and to climb up steep grades like the six-mile incline on the Grapevine highway north of Los Angeles, Loya said.

Capital costs, range challenges

Ken Kellaway, CEO of RoadOne IntermodaLogistics, which has drayage operations across the country, noted that the price of a new electric truck can be more than twice that of a diesel-powered vehicle.

“ Most owner-operators, which make up 80-plus percent of the drayage market, depend on buying used [ diesel ] trucks to get into business,” he added.

Drayage operators in California have been whipsawed by regulations requiring them to purchase zero-emission trucks. California’ s Advanced Clean Fleets( ACF) rule, enacted in 2023, required fleets to transition to EVs over time and would have prohibited the sale of new diesel trucks starting in 2036. However, state regulators in late 2023 agreed to suspend the rule, and the state of California in January stopped seeking exemptions for the rule from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

In the meantime, drayage operators in Southern California still have access to state and port subsidies to help narrow the pricing gap between diesel and electric trucks. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach since 2022 have collected about $ 250 million in revenue from the joint Clean Truck Fund( CTF) Rate. Those funds are used to help drayage operators purchase new EV trucks and also to assist in the development of charging stations and infrastructure.

“ At the end of the day, that’ s what’ s going to drive EV truck sales. Diesel fuel is not getting any cheaper.”

Many drayage operators in other port regions don’ t have access to large subsidies to help them purchase electric trucks, but they also don’ t have to comply with state regulations that mandate the purchase of zero-emission vehicles. Still, Kellaway said they would be motivated to invest in EV trucks that can operate about 500 miles before needing to be recharged.

“ Range has been a challenge, but things will get better with time when it comes to technology,” he said.

Kellaway also noted that charging stations for electric trucks are being developed on the East Coast, especially near the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Drayage operators need convenient access to charging stations in heavy-traffic corridors to invest in electric trucks, he said.

email: bill. mongelluzzo @ spglobal. com

58 Journal of Commerce | October 6, 2025 www. joc. com