EPA Planning To Make Changes That Will Affect Trucking Industry!

It is no secret that the vast majority of goods within the United States are delivered by trucks. Anything that affects the cost of doing business for a trucking company ends up getting passed on to the manufacturer, which in turn is passed on to the end user.

It is expected that the EPA will be making sweeping changes to the trucking industry in the next few weeks. As part of Obama’s push, there is a new mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed EPA changes could require trucks to average up to possibly 9-mpg.

The average truck on the road currently gets somewhere in the 5.5 to 6.5-mpg range (there are some exceptions, but that is a really good average). The government is working with multiple companies on experimental truck/trailer combinations to see what type of fuel economy they could garner with a dedicated focus on fuel economy. Most of the companies have been able to yield anywhere from 10.7 to 12.2mpg (see the stories here and here.)

An independent company, AirFlowTruck.com was, recently, able to achieve 13.4-mpg with a modified production truck. They have since then, teamed up with a number of companies to build a prototype truck to really push the bar and see what is possible. The new truck will feature advanced materials, a complete new cab design, and a lot of aerodynamic additions to the trailer.

All this means the 9-mpg is possible in a one off environment. The majority of the gains are aerodynamic achievements, but regardless of how they are accomplished, there will be a lot of R&D devoted to meeting the new mandate.

This R&D will no doubt result in additional development cost resulting in higher initial purchase prices. While the long run, the trucks may save the companies money with lower operating costs, the initial purchase price will need to be amortized out through each and every delivery.

Only time will tell exactly how much more the trucks will cost, but experts within the industry say the new trucks will be roughly 12 to 14 thousand dollars more. The new fuel economy goals are thought to be targeted for 2027.