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AMTA E-News
February 2010
2010 Marks Beginning of Smog Free Truck
2010 Marks
Beginning of Smog Free Truck & Opens Door to Shippers to Select
Trucking as GHG Friendly Mode
2010 marks the final stage in the trucking industry’s transition
to the smog free truck engine as required by law under rules
introduced by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and Environment Canada. The new 2010 truck engines will reduce
nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions by
over 90 per cent compared to models introduced earlier in the
decade. PM is a major contributor to respiratory diseases and
NOx is the main cause of ground level ozone and smog.
The shift to greener technology is necessary to assure the
protection of the environment but these changes have come at a
price - the environmental surcharge for 2010 vehicles are
estimated to be in the $7,000 – $10,000 range.
While the EPA is tightening emission
standards across all modes of transport, the implementation of
these stringent standards has lagged behind that of the trucking
industry. On December 22, 2009, the EPA
announced final emission standards for new marine diesel engines
with per-cylinder displacement at or above 30 litres
ocean going and Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway
operations. Several of these final standards have been reduced
from an environmental perspective because of economic impact
complaints from the marine sector.
The new emission standards for these marine vessels will be
applied in phases, concluding in the long-term standard,
requiring an 80 per cent reduction in NOx, beginning in 2016.
For the other freight mode alternative, railways, final tier
emission standards to reduce diesel particulate matter (PM) and
NOx for locomotives will not be fully introduced until 2015.
As early adopters of stringent standards, the trucking industry
continues to be a leader in cleaner, more efficient technology.
The trucking industry remains hopeful that their customers will
begin to see value in moving their freight in this
environmentally friendly equipment.
A recent report by FTR Associates, a US based consulting firm
specializing in freight forecasting, discusses the environmental
advantage truck transport holds over rail locomotives. The
report explains that due to differences in truck and rail diesel
engines, rail locomotives emit an average of 4.5 times more NOx
per horsepower-hour than truck. Even when future emission
standards are considered, new locomotives will still emit 6.5
times more NOx per horsepower hour than new trucks. This is not
only critical when examining smog impact of freight movement,
but also greenhouse gases (GHG)
one unit of NOx produces 310 times the global warming
effect of one unit of CO2, the gas normally tracked in carbon
comparisons.
Shippers should closely examine campaigns to increase use of
rail services as a solution to climate change. These campaigns
may indeed result in increased GHG
emissions as a result of freight movement through higher
concentrations of NOx not CO2. As the FTR
report highlights, the 2010 truck engine has virtually
eliminated NOx emissions and the global warming impact of this
emission.
For more information on trucks and the environment and the
Canadian Trucking Alliance’s enviroTruck program please go to
www.cantruck.ca
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