Roeth: Why fleet fuel efficiency still matters after EPA GHG rollback

By now, I am sure you’ve all heard that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rescinded the landmark 2009 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) regulations on model year 2012 to 2027 and beyond vehicles and engines.

When the regulations were announced, I remember being quite interested since it seemed that the EPA was shifting its focus from particulate emissions to GHG and was, in effect, encouraging and, I guess, requiring the trucking industry to burn less fuel. I saw the GHG rule as being all about efficiency, which meant it aligned nicely with NACFE’s mission.

NACFE was in its infancy when the reg went into effect, but even then, I knew that it would save money for fleets because they would improve miles per gallon and use less fuel. The rule basically requires truck and engine manufacturers to develop, design, build, and sell solutions that would make tractor-trailers more efficient. This was at a time when fuel prices at the pump were very high. Overall, I felt the new GHG regulations would be good for the industry.

The regs came in phases, as you are all well aware, with Phase 1 and 2 being implemented and Phase 3 being proposed and ultimately finalized. But the EPA’s latest statement means that all three phases have been rescinded.

However, there is data to support the claim that the regulation did indeed improve fuel efficiency, save fleets money, and reduce emissions. Our most recent Fleet Fuel Study showed that the fleet-wide fuel economy for the studied fleets was 7.77 mpg in 2023—an increase from 7.62 in 2022. For reference, 10 years ago, in 2013, the average was 6.67 mpg. We’ve come a long way. In addition, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) data showed that fuel economy for the nation’s fleet has improved from 5.85 in 2013 to 6.91 in 2022, with much of the improvement coming in the last two years as the entire population of around 1.8 million tractors is now operating with improved mpg. Again, real progress has been made.

It’s unfortunate that the EPA has chosen to rescind the GHG regulations, and I hope that the industry will not slide backwards on efficiency. I firmly believe that burning less fuel while moving the same amount of freight is a good thing—a very good thing.

Regardless of the decision that OEMs make about designing and building new trucks or that fleets make about purchasing add-on items to improve fuel efficiency, I hope they will keep in mind two things. One, fuel represents a significant portion of a fleet’s operating expense regardless of the price of a gallon of diesel. Two, the history of fuel prices shows they are volatile, and they will go up and down significantly. While fleets might not see as much benefit from using less fuel when prices are low, fleets that have figured out how to burn less fuel will see big benefits the next time fuel prices spike—and they will spike.

I can’t tell fleets or manufacturers what to do, but I hope they remember that saving fuel means saving money. And that just makes good economic sense.