New rules will require the nation’s fleet of medium- and heavy-duty trucks to meet fuel efficiency and greenhouse-gas emission standards for the first time ever, beginning in 2014.

Last month, the Obama administration announced the first-ever fuel efficiency rules for heavy-duty vehicles. The new standards are specifically designed to account for the different kind of work done by three categories of vehicles, which combined make up the transportation segment’s second-largest contributor to oil consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Under the program, developed by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders, different measuring sticks will be applied to each vehicle category, covering semi-trucks, heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and so-called vocational vehicles.

Beginning in model year 2014, the standards call for certain combination tractors — commonly known as big-rigs or semi-trucks — to reduce fuel consumption and pollution emissions up to 20 percent by model year 2018, saving up to four gallons of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

Among heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, separate standards are required for gasoline-powered and diesel engines. While gasoline trucks will have to achieve up to 10 percent savings in fuel consumption and GHG emissions by model-year 2018, diesel trucks will have to reach 15 percent. Under the finalized standards, a typical gasoline- or diesel-powered heavy-duty pickup truck or van could save one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

Vocational vehicles, such as delivery trucks, garbage trucks and buses, will have to cut emissions and fuel use by about 10 percent by model year 2018. These trucks could save an average of one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled, according to official estimates.

Within each of the three categories, even more specific targets are laid out based on the design and purpose of the vehicle. This structure is meant to allow “serious but achievable fuel efficiency improvement goals charted for each year and for each vehicle category and type,” the program fact sheet states.

“Trailers are not covered under these rules, due to the first-ever nature of this program and the agencies’ limited experience working in a compliance context with the trailer manufacturing industry,” the regulatory announcement states. “However, because trailers do impact the fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions from combination tractors, and because of the opportunities for reductions, we intend to include them in a future rulemaking.”

According to government projections, trucks and buses built in the 2014-2018 period will reduce oil consumption by 530 million barrels and GHG pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons.

Transportation, the fastest-growing source of U.S. GHG emissions since 1990, was responsible for 29 percent of all U.S. GHG emissions in 2007, according to a 2009 report from the EPA. The heavy-duty sector addressed in the joint proposal accounted for nearly 6 percent of all U.S. GHG emissions and 20 percent of transportation GHG emissions in 2007. Within the transportation sector, heavy-duty vehicles are the fastest-growing contributor to GHG emissions.

Moreover, heavy-duty vehicles use 17 percent of all the oil used for transportation in the U.S. and 12 percent of all U.S. oil consumption, according to the EPA. Overall, transportation accounts for about 72 percent of domestic oil consumption.

The White House touts the fact that truck manufacturers and trucking companies have embraced the move as they try to slash fuel costs.

“While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened,” President Obama said in a statement. “We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium and heavy-duty trucks. They were from the people who build, buy and drive these trucks.”

“In fact,” the New York Times recently noted, “truck manufacturers have not been nearly as resistant to fuel economy standards as car manufacturers have sometimes been. Experts say that if all the manufacturers are pushed into building more efficient trucks, customers will have a reason to buy new vehicles, even if they cost more.”

Although hitting these marks won’t be cheap — the EPA and NHTSA estimate that reaching the higher standards will cost the industry about $8 billion — the agencies say the new rules can save commercial-vehicle operators $50 billion in fuel costs over the life of model year 2014-2018 vehicles.

“Using technologies commercially available today, the majority of vehicles will see a payback period of less than one year, while others, especially those with lower annual miles, will experience payback periods of up to two years,” the regulatory announcement states.

For example, a semi-truck operator could pay for the technology upgrades in less than a year and realize net savings of $73,000 through reduced fuel costs over the truck’s useful life.

“Beyond the direct benefits to businesses that own and operate these vehicles, the program will also benefit consumers and businesses by reducing costs for transporting goods, and spur growth in the clean-energy sector by fostering innovative technologies and providing regulatory certainty for manufacturers,” the Transportation Department says.

Earlier: New Rules Proposed to Improve Truck Emissions and Fuel Efficiency

Resources

Transportation and Climate: Regulations and Standards
Environmental Protection Agency, August 2011

…New Fuel Efficiency and GHG Emission Program for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, MYs 2014-2018
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Aug. 9, 2011

President Obama Announces First Ever Fuel Economy Standards for Commercial Vehicles
by Colleen Curtis
WhiteHouse.gov, Aug. 9, 2011

Heavy Trucks to Be Subject to New Rules for Mileage
by Matthew L. Wald
The New York Times, Aug. 9, 2011

Fuel-Efficiency Standards Likely to be a ‘Non-Event’ for Truck Manufacturers
by Josh Cable
IndustryWeek, Aug. 19, 2011

Cheers All Around as Obama Sets Fuel Efficiency Goals for Big Trucks
by Mark Clayton
The Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 9, 2011

Obama Announces Fuel Standards for Big Vehicles
by David Shepardson
The Detroit News, Aug. 9, 2011

Obama Seeks 20% Cut in U.S. Big-Rig Truck Fuel Use by 2018
by Jeff Plungis and Margaret Talev
Bloomberg News, Aug. 9, 2011