Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/741843
68 commercial carrier journal | october 2016 Truck, engine, trailer makers consider latest round of emissions, fuel economy standards BY JASON CANNON T he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administra- tion recently finalized new emissions and fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy- duty vehicles. The final Phase 2 standards immediately follow Phase 1 greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards that won't be implemented fully until next year. "As the primary manufacturers of medium- and heavy- duty engines and vehicles in the United States, our mem- bers are still in the process of implementing the Phase 1 GHG/FE standards," says Jed Mandel, president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA). EPA said in its 1,690-page Phase 2 document published Aug. 16 that it expects the final standards to lower car- bon-dioxide emissions by about 1.1 billion metric tons and save vehicle owners about $170 billion in fuel costs, while reducing oil consumption by up to 2 billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the program. However, to hit those marks, the agencies are asking for better performance from North American truck, engine and trailer makers and are testing the imaginations of their engineers. Mandel says the success of the Phase 1 implementation was tied directly to the fact that the 2011 standards were matched with EMA member efforts to meet customer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles. He warned, however, that if the Phase 2 proposal doesn't align long-term with both manufacturers' efforts and customers' needs, it could impose enormous costs on customers, constrain their choices and "impose signifi- cant challenges to its successful implementation." Possible and practical By MY 2027 – when the Phase 2 standards are fully phased in – tractors in a tractor-trailer combination must achieve up to 25 percent lower CO2 emissions and fuel consumption than an equivalent tractor in 2018. Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the nonprofit Die- sel Technology Forum, says that tightening regulations must strike a delicate balance between what is possible and what is practical. In addition to compliance with the new fuel economy and GHG emissions requirements on a wide variety of customizable products, heavy-duty engine and truck manufacturers also must ensure near-zero emissions performance for at least 435,000 miles. "In addition to meeting all of the latest federal safety requirements and having the highest uptime and reli- ability, the largest trucks must be able to move 80,000 pounds up mountains at 60 miles per hour and run To hit the Phase 2 marks, EPA and NHTSA are asking for better performance from North American truck, engine and trailer makers and are testing the imaginations of their engineers.