International Truck and Engine Corp. has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Caterpillar Inc., accusing the engine maker of breaking a contract limiting the price increase of new engines that will meet October 2002 emissions standards.

Neither Caterpillar nor International would comment on the litigation. However, Transport Topics, the publication of the American Trucking Associations, reported last week on the lawsuit. It said that International claims Caterpillar reneged on an agreement to supply engines for the model 8600 truck International plans to roll out in August. Caterpillar also allegedly refused to honor a pricing schedule that would have provided other truck engines to International through 2006 costing no more than 9 percent above January 2000 prices.
The lawsuit was filed in May in Illinois, where both companies have headquarters. No hearing date has been set.
The cost increase of the new October 2002 engines has turned out to be much higher than the EPA originally estimated when it developed the emissions standards. As Newport’s Heavy Duty Trucking reported in its June cover story, another truck maker’s data-book base prices are scheduled to go up by nearly $10,000 in many cases to make up for the higher engine prices.
The American Trucking Associations has filed a petition with the EPA and sent a letter to the Bush Administration asking for a delay in the rules. Last week, about 70 members of Congress signed a letter to EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, seeking a one-year delay of the regulations. Such a delay would mean good news for Caterpillar, which is not expected to have its October 2002 compliant ACERT engines ready until sometime next year.