Starting from 2026, enterprises in California will not be allowed to purchase large-scale forklifts (LSIs) with spark plug ignition, and will need to eliminate existing LSI forklifts that have been in existence for 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 used by carb for forklift driven by internal combustion engine.
The California Air Resources Commission is planning to ban the sale of all new non-zero emission 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 to their operations, not only in California, but across 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 rent or buy zero emission material handling equipment instead.
Starting from 2026, enterprises are not allowed to purchase large spark ignition (LSI) forklifts, and need to eliminate existing LSI forklifts that have been 13 years or longer. Understandably, enterprises must plan ahead to ensure that they can meet these requirements.
Here's what these new regulations mean and how they will affect different fleet types.
What does all this mean?
The new regulations naturally mean that the reporting requirements for forklift fleets and fleet owners of enterprises will increase, including the initial report containing the basic information of enterprises and forklifts, and the final report completed after the fleet has completely transitioned to zero emission forklifts.
From 2026, applicable forklifts purchased or leased will need to be zero emission, and old and unqualified models will also be phased out in this year. Starting from 2026, forklifts driven by internal combustion engines with vehicles over 13 years old or engines over 13 years old 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 facilities specified by the mobile cargo handling equipment of ports and multimodal railway freight yards.
In 2022, due to the supply chain problems related to the pandemic, the production of material handling equipment is difficult to catch up with demand in many aspects. How these production problems will affect the adoption of the 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 contains some exemptions and allowances, including rental allowances for fleet operators. As long as their intentions are reported in advance, the fleet will be allowed to rent LSI forklifts to deal 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 in each 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 5 million US dollars will be allowed to retain a low use LSI forklift indefinitely.
What will these regulations look like in reality and what impact they may have on real-world fleets? In order to let our readers have a clearer understanding of the impact of the regulation, we put together some situations and emphasize the impact of the regulation on different types of fleets.
Case ▽
Company 1
In scheme 1, the fleet has 45 LSI forklifts. In 2026, their forklift models range from 2011 to 2025, which means that their forklifts are between 1 and 15 years old.
Starting from 2026, the new zero emission regulations will require additions and voluntary replacements. In the first year, the fleet will have nine forklifts of 2013 or earlier models, which means that basically, they will have to replace nine forklifts.
In the next year, their remaining three forklifts will become more than 13 years old and need to be replaced. It doesn't sound difficult, remember that the fleet will be allowed to keep 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 age of this fleet is not uniform. For example, 14 forklifts are 2017 models and 13 are 2025 models. In addition, this fleet has additional business in December, and usually rents 10 more forklifts this month.
Because the forklifts of this fleet are concentrated in specific models and years, they will not need to retire from any unit for a long time. Between 2026 and 2029, there will be no need for replacement, and the same will be true between 2031 and 2037. However, in 2030, 14 units of their 2017 model will need to be replaced, while in 2038, 13 units of their 2025 model will need to be replaced.
Under such circumstances, wise planning will be required. The good news is that according to the new regulations, short-term leasing of LSI forklifts for seasonal work increases 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 5 million US dollars. Its fleet only has one LSI forklift of 2020 model.
The general rules still apply to this microenterprise, meaning that its forklift will be required to retire in 2033, once it reaches 13 years old. However, microenterprises will be allowed to retain a low usage forklift of any age indefinitely. This means that if the enterprise uses the LSI forklift for less than 200 hours a year, it can retain it as needed.
Last thought
California has proven more than once that it can lead the way when it comes to environmental policy. From California's landmark 1964 motor vehicle emission standard to its groundbreaking 2002 clean vehicle standard, the state has been a pioneer in environmental policy and has adopted it nationwide. The industry that uses forklifts needs to realize that it is a matter of time before 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, because they plan in advance to ensure that they can meet the requirements. This is particularly important because the preparation time for new forklift orders will be longer in 2022.
Fortunately, there is already some flexibility in the regulations, which makes this transition easier. Meanwhile, the forklift lithium battery technology continues to progress 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 efficiency and operational safety. This new battery technology makes electrification possible, even for those operations with high power requirements that traditionally operate internal combustion powered forklifts.
