The California Air Resource Board (CARB) may have withdrawn its request to enact the proposed Advanced Clean Fleets rule, but California drayage company 4 Gen Logistics is still full speed ahead in its efforts to decarbonize. 4 Gen remains committed to the deployment of a fully zero-emission fleet by the end of 2025 – and it looks like they’re going to get there!
4 Gen Logistics has a long history of serving the ports and terminals of Southern California, handling both imports and exports through its logistics centers in Long Beach and Rialto since 1943, when it was known as Duncan & Sons. With that kind of history under its belt, the company has seen the LA smog build up throughout the fifties and sixties, and eventually dissipate throughout the nineties as stricter emissions rules began to clear things up – so they’re invested in keeping their community’s air clean.
To that end, the company began experimenting with electric drayage trucks through the Volvo LIGHTS program in 2019. That program, led by Volvo Trucks, Volvo Financial Services (VFS), and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, provided a roadmap for integrating battery-electric trucks at scale.
Having seen real TCO and quality of life benefits from their deployment of electric trucks, Gen 4 is once again turning to Volvo Trucks and VFS to help finance the next step in the company’s 80-year sustainability journey.
“When we partnered with VFS, we believed in the potential of this emerging technology,” offered Brad Bayne, vice president of strategic initiatives at 4 Gen Logistics, which currently includes a fleet of 41 Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks as part of a 79-unit ZET fleet. “The smooth acceleration, the uninterrupted torque, the quietness — our drivers just loved it. So, we said, ‘Why not order 40 more of those?’”
At least forty more
Gen 4 Logistics’ Volvo VNR Electric assets cover an average of 240 miles per day, utilizing strategically placed charging stations (including opportunity charging points) to maximize fleet uptime and extend each truck’s useful daily range.
With that new order, the fourth generation of Duncan & Sons truckers is confident they’ll reach their goal of a 100% zero-emission fleet by the end of 2025. “We’re proud to be part of the Volvo family and excited for the future,” said Bayne. “The journey from vision to reality is happening now, and we couldn’t be happier with our progress.”
Electrek’s Take
Now counting miles in operation in the tens of millions and rolling out its third generation of electric semi trucks, Volvo (and, by extension, Mack and Renault) continue to build a huge lead in the commercial trucking space. The competition, meanwhile, seems content to post pictures of its first factory while trucks that have been on order for years still haven’t reached customers.
I can’t see how they catch up from here.
SOURCE | IMAGES: 4 Gen Logistics; via ACT News.
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