The Obama Administration this morning will announce a plan to set national standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for heavy- and medium-duty trucks, according to sources familiar with the plan.

Details will come after the 10:30 a.m. White House announcement, but the Environmental Protection Agency is planning a proposal to set specific improvements in fuel efficiency and specific emissions reductions for 2014 through 2018, said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum.

Included in today's announcement will be a letter from truck engine manufacturers to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in support of the EPA's proposal, objectives and schedule, Schaeffer said.

Another source, who asked not to be identified because he has been involved in the negotiations, said that engine manufacturers have been working with EPA for a year and a half to craft a workable plan.

They have been guided by the expectation the standards are coming in any event, and that it makes sense to participate, the source said. The outcome, he said, is that engine manufacturers will be able to live with the proposed rule.

Crafting the Proposal

Schaeffer said that the EPA proposal will recognize the diversity of the trucking industry - a significant complicating factor in setting national fuel efficiency and emission standards. He also said that many of the techniques EPA will rely on will be familiar to participants in the EPA SmartWay program, which promotes technologies such as aerodynamics, low rolling resistance tires and reduction of waste heat as ways to improve fuel economy.

The EPA proposal will be guided in part by research recently published by the National Academy of Sciences.

That study says considerable fuel efficiency gains are possible through a range of technologies and methods across a variety of truck vocations, and recommends that regulators employ a fuel economy measurement that takes freight into account, such as gallons per ton-mile.

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.

Schaeffer said this announcement highlights the progress that's been made in improving diesel engine technology, and sets the stage for even more gains. "Diesels can get even more efficient," he said. "The companies are confident and they support the program because it will give them uniformity and certainty."

American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves said the association has been supporting development of fuel economy standards and is looking forward to today's announcement.

"Reducing fuel consumption and CO2 production is good for the trucking industry and great for the environment," he said.

Another ATA representative, chairman Tommy Hodges, put it this way: "As chairman of the ATA Sustainability Committee that in 2008 offered truck fuel economy standards and five other recommendations to reduce fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and carbon emissions by 900 million tons over a 10-year period, I am excited to see the administration moving forward."

For more background on the National Academy of Sciences study, click here.