Navistar Says ‘Coalition’ Grows To Ease 2010 Emissions Rule
By Frederick Kiel, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the Dec. 8 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
A Navistar Inc. spokesman said that a “coalition is building” around the company’s call to the incoming Obama administration to ease 2010 emissions mandates, but the Environmental Protection Agency said its tightened standards would go into effect without delays.
“We are putting a plan into place to ask the government to allow truck manufacturers to sell clean ’07 technology engines alongside 2010 ones, and we’re talking to people,” Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley told Transport Topics.
But the EPA said there would be no changes.
“Implementing the emission rules for heavy-duty engines is going smoothly [and] will be a reality
in 2010,” EPA spokesman Dale Kemery told TT. “We’re on track.”
Meanwhile, officials of Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks Inc., both Volvo AB subsidiaries, as well as Daimler Trucks North America, issued fresh rejections of Navistar’s plan, as did the association of American Truck Dealers.
But executives of two large fleets — Swift Transportation and Crete Carrier Corp. — said they liked the idea of delaying the 2010 implementation.
And David Owen, president of the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, joined the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association to support Navistar.
Navistar, which builds International Trucks and MaxxForce engines, is the only manufacturer that plans to use exhaust gas recirculation to meet EPA’s mandate to cut nitrogen oxide emissions severely in 2010 (12-1, p. 1; click here for previous premium content story).
All other engine makers, including independent manufacturer Cummins Inc., will use selective catalytic reduction.
“A coalition is building,” Navistar’s Wiley added, but he would not identify other supporters.
“We’ll talk to the members of the new Obama administration at the appropriate time,” Wiley said. “We have a good relationship with the Obama team. Rahm Emanuel, who President-elect Obama has appointed as his chief of staff, is the congressman for the 5th district of Illinois, where our Melrose Park engine plant is located. Rep. Emanuel has visited the plant in the past.”
Some of Navistar’s rivals questioned the motive for seeking a delay.
“It is a little bit strange that they have not contacted others in the industry before trying to change the legislation,” Per Carlsson, chief executive officer of Volvo Trucks North America, told TT. “We have heard about it only in the media. Could it be there are other reasons behind it? Do they have technical problems?”
And David Siler, marketing director for Daimler Truck’s Detroit Diesel subsidiary, told TT, “Last-minute delay efforts signal that there are technical challenges or miscalculations in a particular emissions strategy.” He did not mention Navistar directly.
Wiley rejected the idea that technical difficulties were behind the company’s proposal.
“We are fully prepared to meet 2010 with our EGR engines,” Wiley said. “We’re not seeking delay. We’re seeking choice, called for in these catastrophic economic times.”
However, Volvo’s Carlsson said that SCR was becoming the global standard.
“In Japan, it is SCR technology; in Europe, SCR is the dominating technology. In the U.S., International Trucks is the exception,” Carlsson said. “The absolute majority of companies are using SCR. That is strong evidence that the industry has made a clear choice about the future technology.”
Dennis Slagle, Mack’s chief executive officer, also criticized Navistar.
“If, indeed, Navistar detected this groundswell of need [to change the 2010 rule], why didn’t they speak to other stakeholders first, such as other manufacturers?” Slagle told TT. “They chose not to, and I don’t know why.”
Slagle said, “Having one of our major competitors introducing something so late — it would create an uneven playing field if accepted and would penalize those of us who have been diligent.”
“I would be absolutely shocked if the Obama administration goes against the environment and the legacy of the EPA,” Slagle said. “That would mean everyone would wonder whether the next regulation should be taken seriously.”
George Grask, most recent past ATD chairman, said the dealer group “is not interested in extending the start of 2010 emissions to 2012.”
“We think that every other manufacturer is ready to go and we’re ready to go, too. We think [Navistar] should be too,” Grask said.
But Jerry Moyes, chief executive officer of Swift Transportation, No. 10 on Transport Topics’ 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in the United States and Canada, said about the Navistar plan, “I like it.”
“Look, the goal is clean air, and this is a commonsense solution that reflects today’s environmental and economic realities,” Moyes told TT. “It provides customers with a choice. History has taught us that everything must be on the table, including this clean air solution.”
Duane Acklie, chairman of Crete Carrier Corp., No. 24 on TT’s for-hire carriers list, said he had not heard of Navistar’s proposal but had serious reservations over SCR.
“When the industry is in turmoil like this, it would be better to delay the mandates for two years,” Acklie told TT. “I’m not a technical person, but a delay seems logical.”
NASTC’s Owen said, “I’m for a cleaner environment, but what Navistar is saying makes sense.”
