IMC Logistics orders 50 Tesla Semis for California drayage fleet
IMC Logistics announced on September 22 that it will add 50 Tesla Semi trucks to its California fleet. The order will place Standard Range models, rated for 325 miles, in port drayage and Long Range models, rated for 500 miles, on lanes between Southern California and inland destinations.
IMC did not disclose how many of each model it ordered or when all 50 trucks will enter service. The trucks will augment an existing mixed fleet that already includes battery-electric, hydrogen fuel-cell and renewable-diesel vehicles, including Volvo battery-electric trucks and 50 Nikola hydrogen fuel-cell trucks purchased in March 2024. Tesla’s Semi factory in Sparks, Nevada, has a 1.7‑million‑square‑foot footprint and is designed to produce up to 50,000 trucks per year.
“The addition of 50 Tesla Semis strengthens that strategy as well as allows IMC to establish zero-emission service for long haul lanes,” Jim Gillis, Pacific Region president at IMC Logistics said.
“The future of trucking is likely a mix of diesel, electric, and hydrogen, each solving different problems,” Brian Kobza, chief commercial officer at IMC Logistics said.
WattEV ordered 370 Tesla Semis in May to run from its charging stations at the Port of Oakland and Fresno, with the first 50 due in 2026 and full deployment by the end of 2027. In September, Tesla was named primary manufacturer on a 2,500‑truck electric order through ZET SCALE, a shipper‑carrier alliance whose founding shippers include Microsoft and PepsiCo. Los Angeles is among the 10 freight hubs that the ZET SCALE order targets first.
What we know
IMC Logistics is adding 50 Tesla Semis to its California fleet, putting Standard Range models in port drayage and Long Range models on lanes between Southern California and inland destinations.
The intermodal drayage provider announced the order in a release on Sept. 22.
The Standard Range Semi is rated for 325 miles and the Long Range for 500 miles at 82,000 pounds fully loaded, according to Tesla specifications announced during its inauguration event at its Semi factory in Sparks, Nev.
In March 2024, the company bought 50 Nikola hydrogen fuel-cell trucks with a 500-mile range to expand its service area, and it was running Volvo battery-electric trucks at the time, CCJ reported.
The 1.7 million-square-foot plant is designed to build 50,000 trucks a year.