Dive Brief:

• The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach seek to expand their greenhouse gas reduction plans by instigating zero and near zero emission standards for trucks and other cargo handling equipment, reported American Shipper Wednesday.
• While further measures, such as improving supply chain efficiency, also appear on the docket, some wonder how funding such aggressive action can be achieved, given the 2.6% reduction in port traffic since 2006.
• Truck drivers are also among those with concern about achieving zero-emissions standards, as previous requirements left them struggling to replace older, less environmentally optimized vehicles. 

Dive Insight:

Refurbishing, improving, and cleaning up east and gulf coast ports has become a nationwide movement, thanks to the expansion of the Panama Canal.

With "new" Panamax ships forsaking the Suez for the Panama Canal, east and gulf coast ports are awash in a frenzy of dredging, digging and updating tired local ports. Though efforts are still ongoing, traffic has increased and the expectation of  more remains strong, justifying the passing of massive bonds in order to fund improvements.

Supporting a growing industry is a safe investment, but can the same be said of improving one which is struggling, and in a way that does not necessarily improve the bottom line right away? Environmental updates are critical for long-term survival of the industry, but in the near term they may be a greater appeal more to the surrounding neighborhoods and health agencies than to transport ships looking to dock, unload, and disappear.