Every day, dozens of heavy-duty diesel trucks rumble into a freight yard lined with shipping containers near the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. As the big rigs pick up some of the 11 million cargo containers that pass through the ports each year, they spew an invisible mix of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. The toxic exhaust is not only cooking the planet, but damaging the hearts and lungs of drivers and residents in surrounding low-income communities of color. This is the hidden health and climate cost of consumer goods carried by tens of thousands of “drayage” trucks that shuttle shipping containers from ports to warehouses for distribution across the United States. Change is coming, though, in the form of electric trucks and new business models that could speed the transition to a zero-emission drayage industry. While more heavy-duty electric trucks are coming to market, charging infrastructure for them remains nearly non-existent. Then there’s the price tag. Diesel drayage trucks can cost $100,000 to $200,000; electric versions retail for more than twice that. That’s where startups like Forum Mobility come in. The Oakland, California-based company aggregates rebates for electric trucks and infrastructure to purchase the vehicles and install charging depots, then supplies the trucks and chargers to drayage operators for a monthly subscription fee. Read more about efforts to bring electric trucks to ports at the link in our bio or visit: bloomberg.com/green 📷: Bing Guan/Bloomberg