Graves Says ATA to Seek 2007 Engine Incentives
ASHINGTON - American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said Friday that ATA and industry stakeholders were asking Congress to pass legislation offering tax incentives on new trucks as a way to ease trucking’s transition to the use of cleaner-burning engines beginning in 2007.
"Enacting a short-term tax incentive would put the cost of new clean diesel technology on a level playing field with the cost of today’s trucks," Graves said in a speech to industry officials and journalists at the Transportation Table here.
"It would ensure that trucking companies have the financial ability to purchase these modern clean diesels and ensure that the full air quality benefits intended by EPA’s clean diesel rule will be realized," he said.
However, Graves warned that “clean air comes at a price.”
"Trucks containing clean diesel engines that meet the EPA regulation in 2007 will include innovative emissions control technology that will increase purchase and maintenance costs," Graves said.
The burden of those costs, Graves said, would mainly fall on the trucking industry, and if they were too high, carriers could try to avoid purchasing these vehicles. Instead, companies might buy used trucks, recondition their existing fleets or buy more new trucks before the new engines come to market, he said.
"We must recognize that EPA’s projected environmental benefits will materialize only if trucking company’s can afford to purchase the cleaner more expensive trucks equipped with the clean diesel engines," Graves said.
In his remarks, Graves also urged Congress to quickly pass a highway bill that includes codification of hours-of-service rules for truck drivers and restricts the authority of states to toll the interstate highway system.
(Click here for the full speech.)
