Editorial: Forewarned Is Forearmed

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t’s heartening to see all the activity in preparation for the next change in U.S. environmental rules covering heavy-duty diesel engines, which will become effective with the 2007 models.

All sectors of the industry were clearly unprepared for the last change, which occurred in late 2002 for the 2003 models. And the chaos that ensued was bad for everyone: fleets, truck and engine makers and regulators.

The settlement of the federal government’s action against the engine makers that pushed the deadline for the new engine standard ahead an entire model year was surely the straw that broke the already teetering camel’s back.

The new engines designed to meet the reduced emissions standard for 2003 were not ready for market, just as many fleet executives had warned.

In retrospect, the pre-buy that came before the new standards went into effect was justified, because it was this uncertainty that drove many fleet executives to stock up on the old engines in order to avoid having to buy the earliest versions of the new ones.

While the 2003-model engines now seem to be working well, according to interviews with various fleet officials, the earliest models clearly suffered from design flaws.

This time around, all parties appear to be working diligently to ensure that the new engines for 2007 are fully tested and ready for the challenges.

North America’s truck and engine makers are very concerned about another massive pre-buy in 2005 and 2006, since it upsets normal business cycles by artificially inflating current demand and slashing future demand. This causes the makers to expand and staff up, just as they did in 2002, only to face a dearth of orders after the new regulations come into effect. And it disrupts fleets’ normal equipment replacement programs.

The manufacturers have promised to provide test engines to fleets by the middle of next year, to give them enough time to put some serious mileage on them under actual operating conditions.

And the fleets and the makers are working together on proposals to encourage fleets to buy cleaner engine systems as soon as they are available. The industry expects to make some recommendations to Congress in the near future to do just that.

While we’re hopeful that the transition to the next generation of engines will be smoother, much work remains to be done. Federal regulators need to work in tandem with the manufacturers and the fleets to ensure that trucking is able to continue carrying the goods necessary to support North America’s burgeoning economy.

This story appeared in the Oct. 25 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.