Electric trucks are gaining ground in port and terminal operations as major logistics companies move beyond small-scale testing and begin deploying larger fleets.
APM Terminals has ordered 96 electric yard trucks from Orange EV for its terminal in Elizabeth, New Jersey, its largest terminal on the East Coast. According to Trucking Dive, the investment is designed to modernize terminal operations, improve efficiency, and prepare the facility for future cargo growth.
The move also provides another indication that zero-emission equipment is beginning to transition from pilot programs toward broader adoption in specific areas of freight transportation.
Why electric yard trucks make sense for terminal operations
Yard trucks operate differently from traditional over-the-road Class 8 tractors. They typically move containers and trailers relatively short distances within terminals, distribution centers, and logistics facilities.
Those predictable routes and controlled operating environments can make terminal operations particularly well suited for electrification. Vehicles frequently return to the same facility, making charging infrastructure easier to plan than it can be for long-haul trucking.
For terminal operators, electric equipment also offers an opportunity to reduce local emissions while modernizing fleets responsible for repetitive, high-utilization operations.
APM Terminals is expanding beyond pilot programs
The New Jersey order follows APM Terminals' experience with electric yard trucks at its Pier 400 terminal in Los Angeles.
The company initially operated 20 Orange EV trucks at the facility before expanding the fleet to 60. With another 96 units now planned for New Jersey, the deployments suggest that electric terminal trucks are moving beyond the experimental stage within APM Terminals' operations.
Together, the two locations represent 156 electric yard trucks once the New Jersey deployment is completed.
Port electrification is gaining momentum
The investment also fits into broader zero-emission initiatives underway at major U.S. ports.
The Port of New York and New Jersey is working toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, including efforts to transition drayage trucks and other port equipment away from diesel. Similar investments are underway at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where charging infrastructure and zero-emission freight equipment have become major parts of long-term transportation planning.
As ports expand charging infrastructure, terminal equipment may become one of the areas where commercial vehicle electrification develops fastest.
What this means for the trucking industry
The expansion does not necessarily indicate that electric trucks are ready to replace diesel equipment across every trucking application. Long-haul operations still face different challenges involving range, charging availability, payload, infrastructure, and equipment costs.
Terminal and yard operations, however, offer a different use case. Predictable routes, centralized charging, and frequent vehicle utilization can make electric trucks more practical.
For fleets, ports, and logistics operators, the APM Terminals investment is therefore significant for a broader reason: electric heavy-duty equipment is increasingly being evaluated based on where it makes operational and economic sense rather than as a single solution for every type of trucking.
As infrastructure improves and operators gain more real-world experience with electric equipment, that use-case approach could play an important role in determining how quickly zero-emission trucks expand across the freight industry.
