U.S. Proposes Fuel-Economy Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks

U.S. Proposes Fuel-Economy Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks

By Scott Doggett October 25, 2010

UPDATE: Adds statement from the American Trucking Associations.

By Danny King, Contributor

The Obama administration, acting on a requirement set by Congress under the 2007 energy law, today proposed the first fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in the U.S. Regulators will approach the effort in more of a case-by-case basis than the blanket miles-per-gallon guidelines set for passenger cars and light trucks.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department are proposing that tractor-trailers be required to cut their greenhouse-gas emissions and boost fuel economy by 20% between 2014 and 2018. Gas-powered heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans would need to boost fuel economy over the same time period by 10%, while their diesel-powered counterparts will need to improve fuel economy by 15%, under the proposal.

Such standards, if enacted, would cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 250 million tons over the life of the 2014-18 model-year trucks, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said during a conference call today. Additionally, a typical trucker may save $74,000 in fueling costs over the life of a single big-rig, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said on the call.

"We're proposing a strong and comprehensive national program for pickups, vans, buses and semis," said LaHood. "This will be a win-win-win."

How the standards will be set and enforced is still in question. Rather than enacting specific miles-per-gallon goals for pickups, buses and semis, the regulators will outline emissions standards using grams per ton-mile figures for specific heavy-duty vehicles, while fuel economy will be measured in gallons per ton-mile.

Responses to the new proposal were as varied as the new standards appear to be.

Advocates for technologies related to diesel engines and aluminum use praised the proposal and viewed it as a boon for their respective industries, especially with Jackson indicating that such goals could be reached with current technologies.

"As we learn more about the details of the proposal, it is expected that the proposed rule will likely expand the deployment of existing technologies and demand further innovation that recognizes the unique considerations of the trucking industry and commercial heavy-duty applications," the Diesel Technology Forum, which consists of automakers, energy companies and other vested parties, said in a statement.

Randall Scheps, chairman of the Aluminum Association's aluminum transportation group, said in a statement that "if newly built class 8 truck and trailers were down weighted by using even more aluminum, it could save 3,300 pounds for each unit, in turn saving one billion gallons of diesel fuel and 10 million tons of carbon annually across the fleet."

And with such heavy-duty trucks accounting for about a fifth of all transportation-related greenhouse-gas emissions in the U.S., enacting such standards would go a long way towards improving air quality, according to Don Anair, a senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists' clean-vehicles program.

Still, many industry members took more of a wait-and-see approach. American Bus Association CEO Peter Pantuso declined to comment specifically on today's proposal because he hadn't reviewed all of the documents related to it.

"I will say that EPA's continued focus on the engine and emissions alone fails to recognize the real benefits of motor-coach [bus] travel, which is getting people out of their cars and reducing congestion and the increased use of fuel and emissions that causes," Pantuso added.

Bill Graves, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, the largest national trade group for the trucking industry, said in a statement that the ATA "strongly supports fuel economy standards that are both economically and technologically feasible" and is "encouraged that the draft proposal takes into account the wide diversity of operations within our industry and the need to build flexibility into the rule-making process."

Meanwhile, engine maker Cummins Inc. said the proposal would "add real value to our customers' because of lower operating costs, while truck maker Navistar International Corp. said today that it was "too soon to evaluate all elements of the proposed regulations."

Some environmental advocates were less than charitable. Washington-based nonprofit group American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy said the proposal is a move in the right direction, but falls short when it comes to tractor-trailers.

"The proposal misses some important opportunities to save fuel," said ACEEE Transportation Director Therese Langer. She cited a National Academy of Sciences study from this year indicating the potential for long-haul trucks to drop their fuel use on average by at least 35% by 2017 - or substantially more than the 20% reduction by 2018 proposed by Obama administration.

Today's proposal follows up the government's efforts to boost fuel economy and cut tailpipe emissions from light-duty vehicles. Earlier this year, the Obama administration hiked fuel-efficiency standards by 40% by 2016 for passenger cars and light-duty trucks - to a fleetwide average of 34.1 mpg.

Combined with those new standards, today's proposal will help Americans save $41 billion in fuel costs, the EPA's Jackson said today. She added that such goals are achievable with current technologies through stricture guidelines related to truck idling, tire-technology improvements that are cutting rolling resistance and better truck aerodynamics.

"The clean-air benefits for reduced emissions will reach every American," said Jackson, acknowledging that regulators can't take a "one-size-fits-all" approach to heavy-duty-truck emissions regulations.

Medium-duty trucks are generally defined as 13,000 to 33,000 pounds, while heavy-duty trucks weigh more than 33,000 pounds. The government since 2005 has spent more than $200 million to help retrofit dirtier, older diesel engines with newer cleaner engines.

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.