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The government on Monday proposed the first regulations
limiting fuel consumption of work trucks — from big-rig
trucks to concrete mixers, buses, even heavy-duty
pickups — saying the rules finally address the
thirstiest and most-polluting vehicles on the road.
The proposal, which would take effect with 2014 models and
ratchet up through 2018 models, requires a public comment
period and other procedures, and wouldn't be final until
next year.
The rules would raise the cost of trucks and the diesel
engines most of them use, but the government says the
payback in fuel-cost savings would be as fast as one year
for heavily used over-the-road trucks.
Even so, "We are concerned that this could price some buyers
out of the market," says Kyle Treadway, chairman of the
American Truck Dealers and owner of a Kenworth dealership in
Salt Lake City. Lower fuel consumption is good, he agrees,
but the federal proposal "is expected to add thousands of
dollars to the cost per truck."
"We're reviewing the proposed rules and approaching (them)
with caution," says Norita Taylor of the Owner-Operator
Independent Drivers Association, a trade group representing
owners of one or two trucks or small fleets. Well-meaning
initiatives sometimes place outsize cost burdens on
small-scale truckers, she says.
A conservative group that opposes government involvement in
the economy denounced the proposed rules as "energy
rationing." Myron Ebell, director of the center for energy
and environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute,
said, "The only way to increase fuel efficiency as quickly
(as proposed) will be to move less freight," damaging the
economy.
The complex proposal would cut fuel use 10% to 20%.
"We've been flatlined at 6 to 6.5 miles per gallon for
years" for a loaded tractor-trailer rig, says Glen Kedzie,
vice president at the American Trucking Associations, a
major industry trade group. That translates to about 16
gallons of diesel fuel per 100 miles. A 20% gain would cut
fuel use to about 14 gallons per 100 miles.
Major trucking and shipping interests endorsed the move for
its potential cost savings.
ATA noted that it has backed fuel-consumption regulations
since 2008. "The proposal, using current technology, is
achievable," spokesman Brandon Borgna says.
A consortium representing trucking, shipping and drivetrain
companies says it recommended fuel-use regulations for
commercial trucks as far back as 2006. Now called the
Heavy-Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group, it "devised a
set of principles" for big-truck fuel use and proposed them
to the Obama administration this year.
Though the emphasis is on semi-tractor rigs and other big
trucks, the regulations would apply to vehicles as small as
those with an 8,500-pound gross vehicle weight rating (the
safe weight of the truck and cargo combined) — a Ford F-250
pickup or equivalent.
The heavy-truck rules would join fuel-economy rules for
passenger vehicles that require automakers to average 35.5
miles per gallon in 2016. A recent proposal would push that
to as much as 62 mpg in 2025.
The government forecast the truck rules would cost the
industry $7.7 billion, but save $35 billion in fuel.
The standards would apply to the manufacturers of both
engines and trucks, not to the companies that use them. In
the heavy-duty world, buyers often choose engines separately
from trucks.
Navistar, which builds both big trucks and the engines
that power them at its International Truck and Engine unit,
says it's too soon to determine the precise effect of the
proposed rules, but hopes the government will "properly
incentivize" advanced technologies. Navistar makes
fuel-saving diesel-electric hybrid systems for buses and
commercial trucks.
The regulations don't address the trailers that semis pull —
requiring them to be more aerodynamic, for example — though
they dramatically effect fuel use.
Critics say the standards might not be high enough and
should "do more to draw advanced technologies into the
market" by giving added credit for hybrid drivetrains or
advanced transmissions, says Therese Langer, head of
transportation issues at the American Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy, an advocacy group.
The rules are a joint product of the Environmental
Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. EPA specifies fuel-use limits in grams of
carbon dioxide emitted per ton-mile. NHTSA specifies gallons
of fuel used per 1,000 ton-miles. They say their approaches
complement each other.
They both are intended to take into account that a truck
hauling steel will burn more fuel, and thus emit more CO2,
than a similar truck hauling feather-bedding.
"With just five years of new vehicles sold under this
program, America will eliminate the same amount of oil that
we import from Russia and Nigeria in a year," says Rep. Edward
Markey, D-Mass., member of several energy-related House
committees.
original document:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-10-26-trucks26_ST_N.htm |
