Carriers Aim to Cut Fleet Age Ahead of New Emission Rules

2007 Sales Slump Seen Abating Before Year Ends

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EW YORK — With less than eight months to go before new emission rules dramatically change diesel truck engines, some executives of large truckload carriers said they are rapidly trying to reduce the average age of their fleets to avoid purchasing new equipment early in 2007.

“We are actively managing for the ’07 [Environmental Protection Agency] standards,” said Randy Marten, president of Marten Transport Ltd. “With the orders that we have in place for calendar year ’06, that’s going to give us a lot of flexibility to let our fleet age, and to allow some evaluation of new engines.

Marten and other executives spoke here May 9 at the Bear Stearns Global Transportation Conference here.

For the full story, see the May 15 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.