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Government affairs
How MUCH
is TOO Much?
Electrification of the
trucking industry has a price
tag of at least $1 trillion
By John Worthen
The cost of fully electrifying the trucking industry is staggering.
There’s a lot more to consider than simply the cost of new
vehicles — which is considerable in itself. The nation will need
to build a network of charging stations that’s capable of powering
thousands of heavy commercial vehicles each day.
A recent study, commissioned by the Clean Freight Coalition (CFC)
and conducted by Roland Berger, reveals that creating a sufficiently
dense long-haul charging network would require an initial investment
of at least $57 billion investment by fuel retailers.
To electrify all medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, fleets and
charge point operators will need to invest $620 billion into chargers,
site infrastructure, and utility service costs, the study notes.
These figures are swirling around the trucking industry, creating
a firestorm of debate.
That’s because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
on Friday, March 29, released strict new emissions standards for
heavy-duty trucks, buses, and other large vehicles. Officials say
the new standards will help clean up some of the nation’s largest
sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases.
According to the EPA, the new rules, which take effect for model
years 2027 through 2032, will avoid up to 1 billion tons of greenhouse
gas emissions over the next three decades and provide $13
billion in net benefits in the form of fewer hospital visits, lost workdays,
and deaths. In particular, the EPA says, the new standards
will benefit an estimated 72 million people in the U.S. who live near
freight routes used by trucks and other heavy vehicles and bear a
disproportionate burden of dangerous air pollution.
The new rules for heavy trucks and buses came just a week after
the EPA announced new automobile emissions standards for passenger
vehicles, which relax initial tailpipe limits proposed last year
but are close to the same strict standards set out by the EPA for
model year 2032.
The rule for trucks is complex, with a range of electric-vehicle or
other non-traditional sales projected, depending on the type of vehicle
and use. For instance, 30% of heavy-duty vocational trucks and
40% of short-haul day cab tractors must be zero-emission by 2032.
Not long after the release of EPA’s statement, trucking industry
stakeholders — including fuel providers and retailers, as well
as motor carriers and others — were firing out responses. Most
lambasted the new standards as unreachable with current electricvehicle
(EV) technology and pointed out a lack of EV charging stations
and power grid capacity limits.
Most groups say the EPA’s new emission standards for heavyduty
trucks have unachievable targets and will carry real consequences
for the U.S. supply chain and movement of freight.
Like others in the trucking industry, Jim Ward, president of the
Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), believes the new EPA rule
will have a significantly negative impact on its members, as well as
the industry as a whole.
“It’s important to recognize the progress that’s been made by
our many TCA members who have tested equipment, trained both
technicians and professional drivers, while incurring additional
costs along the way to complying with EPA regulations instituted
over the past couple of decades,” Ward said.
“The industry has effectively reduced NOx and particulate matters
through the evolution and implementation of new technologies
and remains committed to being a good steward of the environment,”
he continued. “The journey ahead provides for many
alternatives to be considered to lower carbon, such as blended
biodiesel, renewable natural gas, diesel-electric — just to name a
few — to help us bridge the gap to the future.
“We cannot just sit idly by and watch the implementation of a
policy that will have a significant impact on our members’ business,”
he concluded.
NATSO, an organization that represents America’s travel plazas and
truck stops, and SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers, said in a
joint statement that while they appreciate that the Biden administration
is working toward reducing carbon emissions, the new EPA rule is
poised to have negative effects on trucking and its related industries.
“The administration’s final rule does not adequately consider
the challenges that fuel retailers face in transitioning to heavy-duty
truck electrification,” the joint statement noted. “The administration’s
final rule also does not recognize the need to support lower
carbon alternatives to diesel fuel that are currently commercially
viable, such as biodiesel and renewable diesel.”
In addition, reports from the American Transportation Research
Institute (ATRI) identify the many challenges facing commercialvehicle
electrification in the areas of U.S. electricity supply and demand,
electric vehicle production, and truck-charging requirements.
“Off-highway refueling locations will need dozens of fast-
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8 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA MAY/JUNE 2024