Trump touts American manufacturing at Peterbilt factory

“American trucking is back,” Trump said. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

President Donald Trump visited Peterbilt’s Denton, Texas, manufacturing plant Oct. 1 as part of a series of campaign stops ahead of the November midterm elections, touting his administration’s policies as beneficial for truck manufacturers and their employees.

“After years of decline, this year the United States has added 60,000 new manufacturing jobs and heavy truck manufacturing is almost up by about, what, 31% or something,” Trump said during what was his second visit to an assembly plant in 2026.

“So America, trucking is back. American trucking is back,” he added.

The 47th president sought to rally support for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat and longtime Trump ally, by framing the administration’s environmental and trade policies as wins for the trucking industry.

Before an audience of plant employees, Paccar Inc. CEO Preston Feight and local and regional politicians, Trump highlighted the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revisions to nitrogen oxides emissions regulations.

“We’re rolling back a horrible thing, the nitrogen oxide regulation. You know about that? Nitrogen oxide? … That would have devastated the heavy truck manufacturing,” he said.

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(Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press)

“This action alone will cut an estimated $6,000 from the cost of each truck built, and it’ll be a better truck. It’ll be a much better truck, which is equally important. And these actions are not simply numbers on paper. They’re about defending a way of life for countless American families.”

Trump’s comments referred to an EPA proposal that would roll back warranty requirements for new heavy-duty trucks while easing certain compliance requirements tied to nitrogen oxides, or NOx, emissions standards. The agency unveiled the proposal July 9 as part of a long-awaited notice of proposed rulemaking revising NOx tailpipe emissions regulations adopted during the Biden administration.

The EPA proposal would retain a requirement that NOx emissions from heavy-duty trucks be reduced to 35 milligrams per horsepower-hour from 200 mg/hp-hr. However, the proposal also would allow truck manufacturers to sell heavy-duty vehicles that do not meet the NOx standard by paying a fee tied to the level of noncompliance. The changes have not been finalized.

Daimler Truck North America, parent company of Freightliner and Western Star, told reporters recently that it is pressing EPA to complete the rulemaking and provide a clearer timeline for changes scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Paccar plans to continue selling current heavy-duty truck engine configurations that do not meet the incoming emissions standards while staggering the rollout of model-year 2027 engines.

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Feight. (Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press)

“We are planning on selling the current product to our customers. That’s the engagement we’ve had with many, many customers; their preferred approach is to ease into this thing,” Feight told analysts during the truck maker’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call July 28.

Trump closed the 55-minute speech by saying he would buy one of Peterbilt’s on-highway tractors if given the opportunity. He spoke in front of a pair of the truck maker’s Model 579 tractors.

“Keep building the Peterbilts. They’re beautiful. I mean, I don’t know if I’m allowed to drive them. You know, Secret Service has a little problem with it. But if I can get approval, I’ll buy one myself and I’ll drive it all over,” he said.

More than 2,500 people work at the 700,000-square-foot Denton plant. Paccar sister company Kenworth operates U.S. assembly plants in Chillicothe, Ohio, and Renton, Wash. Peterbilt and Kenworth engines are manufactured in Columbus, Miss.