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Oct 19, 2016

TRUCK EMISSIONS SURVEY * USA - New Federal limits on

* Michigan - Survey gauges trucking industry attitudes

--- As the U.S. trucking industry faces new federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions, a University of Michigan team surveyed fleet managers to gauge their views on fuel usage, fuel economy and fuel-saving technologies... The survey results, released today with the American Transportation Research Institute, include responses from nearly 100 heavy-duty fleet managers who operate more than 114,500 truck-tractors and haul 9 billion tons of freight across 1.8 billion miles annually... The researchers found that: 

  ° The median heavy-duty fleet fuel economy was 6.5 mpg. While that number may sound low, the researchers point out that these trucks haul tens of thousands of pounds at a time, whereas passenger vehicles weigh only a few thousand pounds each. 

  ° On average, managers of the smallest fleets said that the price of diesel per gallon that would require seeking out fuel-saving technologies was $3.50, while all other fleets (and all fleets overall) said $3.00. Every heavy-duty fleet in this survey currently uses diesel fuel, with biodiesel blends B5, B10 and B20 being the most common alternatives. 

  ° The most popular fuel-saving technologies on the truck-tractor were aluminum wheels, speed limiters and low-rolling resistance dual tires. The most common fuel-saving technologies on trailers were low-rolling resistance dual tires, aluminum wheels and weight-saving technologies. Larger fleets tended to more often utilize monitoring technology that would notify drivers and fleet managers if they exceeded certain speeds, but smaller fleets tended to utilize on-truck technologies. 

  ° Nearly all fleet managers feel that new EPA heavy-duty emissions regulations will lead to higher truck operating and truck purchase costs... 

 New standards from the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration require that emissions reductions begin in 2017... 
(Image credit: American Transportation Research Institute - Truck traffic in the U.S. over a single day)   --  Ann Harbour, MICH, USA - University of Michigan, by Nicole Casal - Oct 17, 2016

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Aug 18, 2016

TRUCKs' EMISSIONS REDUCTION * USA: 54.5 miles per gallon by 2015

* DC - New Rules require heavy-duty trucks to reduce emissions by 25% over the next decade
 
--- The Obama administration on Tuesday issued aggressive new emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks. The rules are expected to achieve better fuel efficiency and a bigger cut in pollution than the version that was first proposed last year... Officials said the new standards would require up to a 25 percent reduction in carbon emissions for big tractor-trailers over the next 10 years, and somewhat smaller improvements for delivery trucks, school buses and other large vehicles... Over all, administration officials said the new rules would cut 1.1 billion metric tons of carbon emissions through 2027 and represent a global benchmark for reducing vehicle-exhaust pollutants linked to climate change... The Obama administration has already mandated big increases in fuel economy for passenger cars and trucks. The government recently affirmed its target of 54.5 miles per gallon as a fleetwide average by 2025... Some environmental groups suggested that the government could have set the standards even higher. “Our research shows that they could have gone further by requiring trucks to be at least 40 percent more efficient,” said David Cooke, a senior vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists... Mr. Cooke said the onus is now on truck manufacturers to take full advantage of fuel-saving technology that is currently available... 
 (Photo by Fred R. Conrad for The New York Times)   --  Washington, DC, USA - The NYT, by BILL VLASIC - Aug 16, 2016

* DC - Trucking industry cautiously embracing new Federal standards

--- Major truck manufacturers and operators of large commercial fleets cautiously embraced federal standards released Tuesday requiring cuts in fuel usage of big trucks, one of the last in a long line of regulations President Barack Obama has issued over the past several years seeking to clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S. economy... The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department jointly announced the final standards for big vehicles ranging from vans to garbage trucks to 18-wheelers that requires up to 25% lower carbon emissions and fuel consumption in certain models over the next decade compared with today... While large companies making engines and managing commercial fleets mostly backed the rules, others representing smaller companies and truck dealerships were more critical... The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said new and more expensive technology requirements places an unfair burden on smaller truck companies that rely solely on their reputation and can’t wait years to pay off the standards’ cost. “One truck going down, that is a huge, huge impact,” said Scott Grenerth, regulatory affairs director for the association. He added that in 2014, 49% of all fleets only had one truck. “There is very little room for error in an industry that calculates things down to the penny per mile” ... A spokesman for the American Truck Dealers, a division of the National Automobile Dealers Association that represents 1,800 truck dealerships, said the group was still analyzing the rule but was “concerned with the possibility that compliance will prove too complex or expensive for the market (dealer customers) to accept without disruption.” ... 
(Photo: Reuters - A truck arrives through the tunnel at the Port of Miami on May 19. The federal government on Tuesday issued final carbon-emissions standards for big trucks)   --  Washington, DC, USA - The WSJ, by AMY HARDER and IMANI MOISE - Aug. 16, 2016

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Jul 18, 2016

TRUCKS EMISSIONS * USA: Little progress - ** Europe: Introducing CO2 limits

* Michigan / USA  - Trucks have made remarkably little progress in reducing emissions

--- New cars, pickups, and SUVs sold in the U.S. have become remarkably more fuel-efficient, and their contributions to the national carbon footprint have declined significantly. In 1990, these vehicles represented 15.6 percent of total emissions in the U.S.; in 2014 they made up just 16.1 percent, according to a new report by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, researchers at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute... Transportation still has a long way to go in reducing emissions. That becomes abundantly clear when considering the growing impact of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. According to the same report, the share of total U.S. emissions from long-haul trucks, garbage trucks, ambulances and other types of five-ton-and-up mammoths has increased steadily and substantially, from 3.6 percent in 1990 to 6 percent in 2014. Absolute emissions from passenger vehicles leveled off over that period, but absolute emissions from heavier-duty trucks soared to 76 percent... As Julian Spector reported for CityLab in May, some engineers and entrepreneurs are beginning to confront the challenge, with innovations in battery technology, streamlined design, and calls for updated regulations around truck size and weight. With efficiency in heavy-duty vehicles astoundingly low as is, “even small improvements... can have a big effect on overall emissions,” Spector wrote...
Ann Arbor, MICH, USA - City Lab, by Laura Bliss - Jul 13, 2016

* Maryland / USA - 41% of nation’s commercial trucks use clean diesel engines

--- More than 40 percent of all medium- and heavy-duty diesel commercial trucks in operation in the United States — 4 million of 9.5 million diesel trucks — are now equipped with newer technology clean diesel engines, according to a new Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) analysis... The report includes IHS Automotive vehicles in operation representing Class 3-8 diesel trucks from Model Year 2007 through 2015 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Beginning in 2007, all heavy-duty diesel trucks sold had to meet particulate emissions levels of no more than 0.01 grams per brake horse-power hour (g/HP-hr.) — a level near zero... Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum said, there are now four states – Indiana, Utah, Oklahoma and Texas – where more than 50 percent of the registered diesel trucks are the newer cleaner trucks. And in 2015, Oregon had the largest increase in the nation of newer diesel truck registrations with a 35 percent increase over 2014... California has the largest fleet of commercial truck registrations on an absolute number basis; however, it ranks near the bottom for adoption of newer trucks on a percentage basis, based on the analysis... In December 2000, EPA promulgated a rule that established stringent standards designed to reduce emissions from on-road heavy-duty trucks and buses by up to 95 percent and to cut the allowable levels of sulfur in diesel fuel by 97 percent by 2010. To achieve these new standards, the new clean diesel system relies on an efficient engine and combustion system utilizing the most advanced fuel-injection, turbocharging and engine management strategies coupled with advanced emissions controls and after-treatment technologies including particulate filters and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, all running on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel...
 Frederick, MD, USA - Trucking News - July 15, 2016
** Belgium - EU to introduce CO2 emission limits for trucks

--- The European Commission will propose limits for the first time on CO2 emissions from trucks and will also set new fuel efficiency standards for cars and vans from 2020, according to a draft document seen by Reuters... The European Union currently has no limits on truck emissions, unlike other countries such as the United States, China, Japan and Canada, which already have truck fuel efficiency standards... The European Union has a limit of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer (g/km) by 2021 for cars and vans but has so far not done the same for trucks, which are responsible for around a quarter of road transport emissions and that share of emissions could increase by 2030, according to the Commission... In Europe, the industry, which includes manufacturers Daimler, Renault and Volkswagen, has resisted targets for trucks on the grounds that their different shapes and sizes make a "one-size-fits-all" approach to limiting CO2 emissions difficult and that fuel efficiency has already helped lower their carbon footprint... To prepare the ground for the new limits the Commission will propose a law on the certification of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of new trucks - namely a CO2 test procedure - as well as a law on monitoring and reporting trucks' fuel consumption... In the United States, standards on truck emissions could lead to a 33 percent reduction of fuel consumption rates from 2010 levels, according to researchers... 
Brussels, Belgium - Reuters (UK), by Julia Fioretti/Alexandra Hudson and Jane Merriman - Jul 15, 2016



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May 19, 2016

SUZUKI & MITSUBISHI MOTORS' SCANDAL * Japan: Cause, EMISSIONS METHODS MEASURES

* Tokyo - Suzuki admits irregularities after the scandal Mitsubishi

-- The Japanese automaker Suzuki confessed Wednesday that measured emissions of their cars with non-approved methods, but denied having falsified results, unlike Mitusbishi Motors, mired in a scandal that prompted the resignation of its president... The company insists that the values ​​obtained by this method are not false, as explained by the location of the evidence "on a hill near the sea, weather conditions, especially wind, affecting measurements" ... Misleading data back to 2010, affecting 2.1 million vehicles of the 16 models sold in Japan, said the group's president Toshihiro Suzuki, at a press conference at the Ministry of Transport...  The group specializes in mini vehicles, with a strong presence in India, sells about three million cars a year... Suzuki confessions occur shortly after Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) admitted data manipulation and forgery in performance testing of their engines... The scandal caused a sharp drop in sales of cars group, Wednesday announced the resignation of its president, Tetsuro Aikawa, and its vice president... Mitsubishi initially said the fraud took place only four types of mini vehicles, but now admits that there are other concerned models including its flagship hybrid Outlander PHEV 4X4... Last week, another Japanese group, Nissan, unexpectedly came to the rescue of Mitsubishi, with the announcement of the purchase of a third of its capital... 
(Photo: A Suzuki mini-truck)  --  Tokyo, Japan - Yahoo News, by Anne BEADE - May 18, 2016

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Dec 3, 2015

TRUCKS EMISSIONS TESTING * Sweden: Scania reveals real world emissions testing

* Truckmaker says emissions monitoring has occurred in traffic for last three years
-- As the Volkswagen emissions scandal has grown to encompass other automotive brands within the group, truck maker Scania has revealed the real world emissions testing that the company uses to ensure Euro 6 compliance in its heavy trucks... The company uses three trailer mounted mobile test laboratories to monitor emissions on public roads... From 2013 onwards, heavy vehicle emissions are required to be carried out in normal every day traffic conditions. The trucks being tested are also loaded to 50- 60 per cent of their rated payload... For the test, a lab trailer is hooked up to a prime mover. It is then connected to the vehicle’s on-board diagnostics system and an exhaust gas analyser is mounted on the exhaust... 
(Photo: Scania emissions test engineer Sven Andersson)  --  Södertälje, Sweden - ATN (Australia) - 17 Nov 2015

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Apr 18, 2015

TRANSPORTATION SECTOR * USA: The second largest source of GHG

* DC - EPA report: transportation 2nd largest contributor of GHG emissions

-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today reported a 2 percent increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2013 from 2012 but a 9 percent drop since 2005... By sector, power plants accounted for 31 percent of total U.S.A. greenhouse gas pollution. The transportation sector contributed a reported 27 percent, an EPA report says... The transportation sector was the second largest source of GHG with power plants being the No. 1 culprit, the agency stated... The statistics were in EPA’s 20th Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks just released... In June 2013, the president's Climate Action Plan called for the Department of Transportation to develop fuel-efficiency standards and the EPA to develop GHG standards for medium- and heavy-duty on-highway vehicles and work trucks in a joint rulemaking within the president's second term. In February, 2014, the President directed DOT and EPA to complete the second phase of the standards... 
(Photo: Truck traffic to the Bronx)  --  Washington, DC, USA - The Trucker News Services - 16 April 2015

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Apr 6, 2015

TRUCK EMISSIONS * USA: The federal government did not publish its Phase 2 greenhouse-gas rule

* DC - Carbon rule approaching ... The rumor mill was correct ...

  --  The federal government did not publish its Phase 2 greenhouse-gas rule on truck emissions by March 31... The urge to say “gotcha” fades quickly, though, because a number of desirable developments appear to be sprouting around the proposal that the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jointly sent to the White House on March 27... Most importantly, a key EPA official recently stated that the agencies are aware of what happened with truck making in 2006 and 2007, and they do not want to repeat that boom-bust... People were so fearful of buying trucks made after Jan. 1, 2007, because of a change in emissions standards, that sales blew through the roof in 2005 and 2006 only to plunge catastrophically after that. It was a miserable time for truck makers, their suppliers, employees and dealers, and the people who bought the vehicles. Apparently, the grim lesson has been learned...
(Photo: Emissions from trucks)  --  Washington, DC, USA -Transport Topics -Editorial  - 6 April 2015

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Mar 14, 2012

TRUCKS EFFICIENCY * USA

* DC - EPA Issues 2011 Fuel Economy Trends Report/Fuel economy edges to record high as carbon pollution levels drop to new low


Washington,DC,USA -EPA, BY Cathy Milbourn -8 March 2012: -- The average fuel efficiency for new cars and light duty trucks has increased while the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions continue to decrease for the seventh consecutive year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual report, “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2011” ... For 2010, the last year for which EPA has final data from automakers, the average real world CO2 emissions from new vehicles were 394 grams per mile and the average fuel economy value was 22.6 miles per gallon (mpg). EPA projects an improvement in 2011, based on pre-model year sales estimates provided to EPA by automakers, to 391 grams of CO2 per mile and 22.8 mpg...

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Jun 12, 2009

Pollution * UK - RHA welcomes realistic analysis of road haulage CO2 emissions

London,UK -HGV (Ireland) -11 June 2009: -- The Road Haulage Association (RHA) in the UK has welcomed a study by researchers at Heriot-Watt University, which should change the way the carbon performance of the road haulage industry is viewed... The carbon intensity of freight moved by HGVs in the UK appears to have fallen by 6% (by tonne/km) in the period 1990-2005 rather than to have risen by 11%, as official figures have until recently suggested... "This finding will ring true to everyone working in the road haulage sector," says director of policy Jack Semple. "Professor, Alan McKinnon, and his research associate Maja Peick, have provided much-needed balance and accuracy to the way we view road haulage, the dominant mode of moving goods and a key engine of our economy... (Picture from foulgertransport: Fleethaulage)

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May 22, 2009

REJECTION * Australia - Local truck makers reject US emission standards


Sydney,Australia -ATN, by Michael House -22 May 2009: -- Mandatory vehicle emission standards, as planned for the United States, would be complex and unnecessary in Australia, truck manufacturers say... Federal and state transport ministers are due to consider the US plan which will enforce a standard of 15km per litre on average for heavy vehicles by 2016, compared to the current average of 10km per litre... But the Truck Industry Council (TIC) says while it may be viable for passenger cars, trucks are a different story... Executive Director, Terry Pennington, says although many countries around the world are planning to cut truck emissions, Australia is already doing its part in curbing transport pollution considering its unique transport industry... The Australian Conservation Foundation yesterday called on the transport ministers’ council, to meet tomorrow, to set mandatory fuel consumption standards for Australian-made cars, but did not put any demands in relation to heavy vehicles... (Picture from volvo: Trucks emissions)

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