A ceremony held at the Port of Long Beach saw a record-setting $383 million grant from the state’s Port and Freight Infrastructure Program (PFIP) issued to support 22,000 clean jobs, reduce port and freight emissions, and build up a more modern, more sustainable supply chain at one of America’s busiest ports.
A significant portion of the $383M PFIP grant is going to SWIFT (System-Wide Investment in Freight Transport) vehicles, with a battery-electric tugboat, an even dozen heavy forklifts, and 49 examples “cargo-handling equipment,” which you can read as yard hostlers, telehandlers, and reach stackers. Those funds also cover the deployment of 21 charging stations (6 for the forklifts, 15 for the other equipment assets), as well as three hybrid-electric or zero-emission shirt-run ferries and pilot vessels.
California State Transportation Agency Secretary Toks Omishakin visited the Port of Long Beach, yesterday, cutting a ribbon on the project(s) and symbolically putting the program into action…