Trucking moves a step closer to federally mandated fuel economy standards, with publication Wednesday morning of a conceptual approach to the issue by the National Academy of Sciences.

The study says considerable fuel efficiency gains are possible through a range of technologies and methods, and recommends that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration employ a fuel economy measurement that takes freight into account.

"The choices that will be made over the course of the next few years will establish the regulatory design for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fuel consumption standards for the next several decades," said Andrew Brown Jr., the chairman of the committee that wrote the report. Brown is Executive Director and Chief Technologist of Delphi Corp.

The NAS study will provide the conceptual and technical foundation for a fuel economy regulation that is being drafted by NHTSA under orders from Congress. It was prepared by a 19-member committee that includes academics, members of public interest organizations and trucking industry experts, including Duke Drinkard, vice president of maintenance (retired) at Southeastern Freight Lines, David Merrion, executive vice president (retired) at Detroit Diesel, and Charles Salter, executive director of engine development (retired) at Mack Trucks/Volvo Powertrain.

Committee: MPG Not Appropriate Metric

Trucking consumes about 26 percent of all the transportation fuel used in the U.S., which makes it a ripe target for efficiency gains, but the industry's use of fuel is difficult to measure and does not lend itself to the miles-per-gallon approach employed to regulate automobile efficiency.
The NAS committee recommends that NHTSA use a metric that reflects the efficiency of freight transport, such as gallons per ton-mile. It does not recommend a specific standard because it is up to NHTSA to establish standards based on a vehicle's occupation. The fuel economy regulation should be based on national data reflecting the average payload of each type of vehicle, the committee said.

Further, NHTSA should regulate the vehicle manufacturer rather than component makers, the committee said. And NHTSA should conduct a pilot program to prove that the regulatory scheme will work. The committee cited the experience of Japan, which has established truck fuel economy standards, and the European Union, which is working on standards, as evidence that the difficulty of regulation is not insurmountable.

Potential Fuel Efficiency Gains

The study includes estimates of fuel efficiency gains that are possible over the next decade. For example, it says that improvements in diesel technology could lower fuel consumption in tractor-trailers by 20 percent by 2020, and that an additional gain of 11 percent could come from improved aerodynamics. And stop-and-go trucks such as garbage haulers could gain at much as 35 percent using hybrid drivetrains.

The study includes a cost-benefit analysis based on a range of fuel-saving technologies. It says, for example, that tractor-trailer combinations can achieve the biggest gains for the least expense: a 50 percent cut in fuel use for about $84,600 per truck by 2020. These improvements would be cost-effective over 10 years provided fuel costs at least $1.10 per gallon, according to the analysis.

On that point, the committee also said that a higher fuel tax would be one way to induce operators to optimize efficiency. And it suggests that the government provide incentives to train drivers in fuel economy skills.

For detailed coverage of the report, see the May issue of Heavy Duty Trucking.