The American Petroleum Institute (API) filed a lawsuit on June 18 against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the agency’s new rules that tighten emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles.
The API calculates that more than 40 percent of work trucks used by model year 2032 will have to be zero-emissions. In addition, long-haul tractor fleets need to have 25 percent of their vehicles zero-emissions by this time, up from the current zero percent, it said.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) are co-petitioners in the case.
When announcing the final rule, the EPA said the regulations will protect public health and “address the climate crisis.”
The EPA pointed out that heavy-duty vehicles make up 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector in the United States, making these types of vehicles the single largest source of such emissions in the country.
The agency projected that the rule will prevent 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions while offering $13 billion in annualized net benefits in the form of “public health, the climate, and savings for truck owners and operators.”
“With this action, the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to deliver on the most ambitious climate agenda in history while advancing a historic commitment to environmental justice,” the EPA said.
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer warned that the rule will “devastate” the U.S. supply chain and eventually raise costs for consumers.
Small business truckers, who make up 96 percent of trucking in the country, could end up being regulated out of business because of the EPA’s “unworkable” regulations, Mr. Spencer said.
National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle criticized the rule, saying the EPA is trying to impose a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing climate change by pushing electric vehicles when alternatives such as corn ethanol could be considered.
Expensive Transition
Florida-based transportation and logistics firm Ryder analyzed the potential cost of transportation if internal combustion engine trucks were converted to electric vehicles (EVs). The firm stated in a May 8 report that there would be an estimated 5 percent cost increase for light-duty EVs and a 94 percent to 114 percent increase for heavy-duty trucks in that scenario.For a fleet of 25 mixed vehicles, including light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks, costs surge by 56 percent to 67 percent, according to Ryder’s estimates.
Because transportation costs have a direct bearing on the price of goods sold in markets across the country, Ryder estimates that such increases would eventually add about 0.5 percent to 1 percent to overall price inflation in the economy.
The standards require that 68 percent of new passenger vehicles and 43 percent of new medium-duty trucks be electric by 2032, the group said.
“The benefits of this rule will far exceed the total costs,” the agency stated.
“Consumers are expected to save an average of $6,000 over the lifetime of a new vehicle from reduced fuel and maintenance costs, once the standards are fully phased in.”