Fleets Call for Tax Incentives to Buy Engines

ORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Executives from four of the largest U.S. heavy-duty trucking fleets urged the federal government to provide financial incentives to help offset anticipated higher purchase and maintenance costs for the next generation of lower-emissions diesel engines.

The four fleet panelists at the Diesel Engine Emissions Summit II last week warned that a massive pre-buy of current-model engines could otherwise result before the new engines begin appearing in 2007-model trucks.

Representatives of Ryder System, Schneider National, U.S. Xpress and FedEx Freight all told a group of about 1,100 summit attendees that they were unsure of what to do in 2007, in part because the lower-emissions engines they bought after October 2002 came with a host of mechanical problems.