Starting from 2026, enterprises in California will not be allowed to purchase large-scale forklift trucks (LSI) with spark plug ignition, and will need to eliminate existing LSI forklift trucks with more than 13 years. The following are the contents of the latest regulations of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and how they will affect different fleet types.
LSI is another name of carb for forklift driven by internal combustion engine.
The California Air Resources Commission is planning to ban the sale of all non-zero emission new forklifts by 2026. The committee's recent proposal to phase out non-zero emission forklifts is still under development, and the legislation has not yet taken effect. However, users in the material handling equipment industry are questioning what it means for their operations, not just in California, but in the United States.
The core is that the proposal in the plan will force users to phase out internal combustion forklifts, including propane and diesel forklifts, and instead rent or purchase zero emission material handling equipment.
Starting from 2026, enterprises are not allowed to purchase large spark ignition (LSI) forklifts, and they need to eliminate existing LSI forklifts that are 13 years or longer. Understandably, companies must plan ahead to ensure that they can meet these requirements.
The following are the meanings of these new regulations and how they will affect different fleet types.
What does all this mean?
The new regulations naturally mean an increase in the reporting requirements for the enterprise's Forklift fleet and fleet owners, including the initial report containing the basic information of the enterprise and forklift, and the final report completed after the fleet has completely transitioned to zero emission forklift.
Starting from 2026, the applicable forklift purchased or leased will need to be zero emission, and the old and non-conforming models will also be eliminated in this year. Starting from 2026, forklifts driven by internal combustion engines with vehicle age over 13 years or engine over 13 years will no longer be allowed to operate.
Not all forklifts will be affected by this regulation. The main part of the regulation will be large spark ignition forklifts with a lifting capacity of 12000 pounds or less. The unaffected forklifts include off-road forklifts, pallet lifts, military tactical vehicles, forklifts with telescopic arms, and forklifts owned or operated by the facilities specified by the mobile cargo handling equipment of the port and multimodal railway freight yard.
In 2022, due to the supply chain problems related to the pandemic, the production of material handling equipment is difficult to catch up with the demand in many aspects. How these production problems will affect the adoption of new regulations remains to be seen, although leading lithium battery manufacturers are already preparing to increase production to meet the demand for zero emission forklift batteries.
In order to reduce the difficulty of transition, the regulation includes some exemptions and allowances, including rental allowance for fleet operators. As long as their intentions are reported in advance, the fleet will be allowed to hire LSI forklifts to cope with emergencies or seasonal workload increases, up to 30 days per calendar year.
Similarly, the low usage exemption will allow the fleet to retain a certain number of LSI forklifts as long as they are used for less than 200 hours per calendar year. The number of low usage LSI forklifts that a fleet can retain will be limited to 10% of its total equipment. It is worth noting that micro enterprises with less than 25 employees and annual total income of less than US $5 million will be allowed to retain a low-cost LSI forklift indefinitely.
What will these regulations look like in the real world and how will they affect the fleet in the real world? In order to let our readers understand the impact of the regulation more clearly, we put some cases together to emphasize the impact of the regulation on different types of fleets.
Case ▽
Company 1
In option 1, the fleet has 45 LSI forklifts. In 2026, their forklift models range from 2011 to 2025, which means that their forklifts will be between 1 and 15 years.
Starting from 2026, the new zero emission regulations will require additions and voluntary replacement. In the first year, the fleet will have 9 forklifts of 2013 or earlier models, which means that basically, they will have to replace 9 forklifts.
In the next year, their remaining three forklifts will become more than 13 years old and need to be replaced. This does not sound difficult, remember that the fleet will be allowed to retain five low usage LSI forklifts of any model until 2031.
Company II
This hypothetical fleet has 27 LSI forklifts from the 2017-2025 model. However, the model life of this fleet is not uniform. For example, 14 forklifts are the model of 2017, and 13 forklifts are the model of 2025. In addition, the fleet has additional business in December, and usually rents 10 more forklifts this month.
Because the forklifts in this fleet are concentrated in certain models and years, they will not need to retire any units for a long time. There will be no need for replacement between 2026 and 2029, and the same will be true between 2031 and 2037. However, in 2030, 14 units of their 2017 model will need to be replaced, and in 2038, 13 units of their 2025 model will need to be replaced.
In such cases, wise planning will be required. The good news is that according to the new regulations, short-term leasing of LSI forklifts for seasonal work increase will still be allowed. In addition, the fleet will be able to retain three low usage LSI forklifts of any age until 2031.
Company III
A microenterprise means that it has fewer than 25 employees and an annual total income of less than US $5 million. Its fleet has only one LSI forklift of model 2020.
The general rules still apply to this microenterprise, meaning that its forklift will be required to retire in 2033, once it reaches 13 years of age. However, microenterprises will be allowed to keep a low usage forklift of any age indefinitely. This means that if the enterprise uses the LSI forklift for less than 200 hours per year, it can retain it as needed.
Last thought
California has proved more than once that it can lead the trend when it comes to environmental policy. From the landmark 1964 motor vehicle emission standard in California to its pioneering 2002 clean vehicle standard, the state has been a pioneer in environmental policy and has been adopted throughout the country. The industry using forklifts needs to realize that it is a matter of time before the electrification of forklifts is mandatory in California and across the country.
In view of this upcoming legislative initiative, fleet managers, forklift manufacturers and dealers must pay close attention to these developing regulations as they plan ahead to ensure that they can meet the requirements. This is particularly important because the lead time for new forklift orders in 2022 will be longer.
Fortunately, there is some flexibility in the regulations to make this transition easier. Meanwhile, the lithium battery technology of forklift continues to improve to meet the needs of more and more industries. The advanced high-capacity lithium battery makes the diesel and propane powered forklift smoothly transition to electric, and significantly improves the efficiency and operation safety. This new battery technology makes electrification possible, even for those operations that traditionally operate internal combustion powered forklifts with high power requirements.
