California Air Resources Board and Fleet Averaging F.A.Q.
This should be used as a guideline only. The actual regulation can be found at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/cert/cert_results.php?order=0.

1.  What are the Fleet Classifications powered by gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)?

• • A Large Fleet is 26 or more forklifts, and it is our understanding that a single owner with more than one location must add all locations together to make up the fleet
  • A Medium fleet is 4 to 25 units, and has a slightly higher allowed average.
  • 1 to 3 forklifts- Congratulations, you get a free pass. You can continue to operate any forklifts you own regardless of emission level or age. And you can buy new forklifts that meet the 2007 Emission Standards.

2.  What about Electric and Diesel powered forklifts?

• Since the Electrics don’t contribute to the HC + NOx emissions they get a 0 for emissions. You only have to count the Internal Combustion forklifts, and then average the total fleet.
• You only count the LP or gasoline units. Diesels are covered under a separate regulation.

3.    What about my older, unmodified forklifts?

• Uncontrolled or Tier “0” IC forklifts are given a value of 16 g/kw/hr for calculations.
• Uncontrolled forklifts and older certified trucks can be upgraded to lower emission levels with Aftermarket kits. Contact our Service Department for more details.

4.    How do you average the fleet?

• All forklifts sold after 2000 have an “Emission Sticker” that shows “Certification Level.” Most will have a value of 2.7 g/kw/hr. Uncontrolled engines don’t have a Sticker, so you assume the value of 16 g/kw/hr. Simply add all these values and divide by the number of trucks in the fleet.

5.    When does it go into effect?

• o    Fleets must meet the averaging value of 3.2 g/kw/hr for 26 more trucks (Large Fleet) or 3.5 for fleets of 4-25 trucks (Medium Fleet) on 1 April 2009.
• Engines larger than 3.0 liter have been postponed for 1 year to April 15, 2010. That means that when you calculate the fleet average, you can leave the engines over 3.0 out of the total fleet.

6.    What about the future?

• The fleet averaging values will drop to 2.3 g/kw/hr for Large Fleets and 2.7 g/kw/hr for Medium Fleets on 1 January  2011.

7.    What if I don’t meet the standard?

• CARB is now actively auditing and levying fines (in California). The fine for not complying is $500 per forklift per day.
• If you are going to buy a forklift in 2009, it is a good idea to buy one that meets the lower standard. You can get the best effect on your fleet average by using a low emission engine to offset older engines with higher emissions. And it will meet the 2010 standard so it will have more value down the road.