USPS to Replace Its Trucks Prior to '07 EPA Deadline

he United States Postal Service said it would replace its fleet of about 2,000 Class 8 tractors in 2005 and that its normal eight-year replacement cycle would enable the federally owned corporation to bypass the Environmental Protection Agency’s next two deadlines for additional emissions restrictions on heavy-duty diesel engines.

Diesels for fleet trucks such as USPS uses must meet tightened emissions standards in 2007 and even tighter rules in 2010. Redesigned engines to meet the rules are widely expected to make trucks cost more.

USPS official Wayne Corey told Transport Topics May 5 that USPS was “not comfortable” with the added cost for emissions controls but “acknowledged it will happen. We are less concerned with the technology than the price of the technology. We expect even higher premiums on the price of that technology in 2007.”