The EPA (Environment Protection Agency) is in charge of regulating and moderating the emissions used by trucks, cars, planes, and any other form of transportation.
Global climate change is a world issue, and it’s crucial for both trucking companies and their employees to have at the bare minimum a basic understanding of what it is and what they can do to help ease the burden of climate change while maintaining a high level of service for their clients and customers.
Over the last several years, the EPA has issued several guidelines and changed it’s standards for vehicles as they’re produced. The newer the truck, the more likely it is to comply with the guidelines.
The Basics
The EPA’s guidelines for trucks and commercial vehicles has slowly been evolving over the last 2 maintenance changes. The first was issued in 2011, and the second, in 2016 was issued to help build a future generation of greener, more efficient trucks.
The results of these changes are still hypothetical, but over time, these new guidelines are projected to:
- Lower CO2 emissions by approximately 1.1 billion metric tons;
- Save vehicle owners fuel costs of about $170 billion; and
- Reduce oil consumption by up to two billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the program.
What Does This Mean for Trucking Companies?
Unfortunately for trucking companies, these changes are going to result in an investment. An investment in new trucks, to be more specific.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Over time, these changes are projected to save truckers and their companies billions of dollars in post fuel costs.
It’s no secret that gas is the biggest expense that trucking companies have to make, and after the initial down payment of investing in new trucks, this could lead to massive savings for many of America’s shipping and logistics companies.
What Happens Long Term?
Obviously, long term, there is going to need to be a larger solution than just fuel efficiency to combat global climate change.
That’s where the giant companies that are doing amazing work in order to create fully electric trucks that will (hopefully) soon be all over the roads. Companies like Tesla, Nikola, and more are looking to make this “sci-fi dream” a reality.
Until then, it seems that the EPA is going to continue to issue guidelines to create trucks that are less gas guzzling and more eco-friendly, year after year.
Of course, there are a lot of factors that will impact the way that these guidelines are created and issued, a few being the latest research on global climate change and the national and global political situation.
Closing Thoughts
At Legacy Express Trucking, we pride ourselves on being up to date on not only the current industry regulations and trends, but also the possibilities for the future. We’ve been at this for nearly a decade now, and we’re excited to evolve with this industry.
No matter what the future holds, as long as there are people there will be the need to move products across the country (and the world), and we’re here to do it.
With some of the top minds in the world working on creating greater fuel efficiency, the future is bright. It has to be.
