Government rules and programs affect dairy processors and their fleets. For example, there is the call to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel efficiency of medium- and heavy-duty trucks beginning in 2017.
By now, we all know that the Mayans weren’t correct. The world did not end on Dec. 21, 2012, but anyone involved in trucking is certainly facing a number of problems and might feel as though the Mayans were onto something. These include emission and mileage standards; the California Air Resources Board; SmartWay; Compliance, Safety, and Accountability; EOBRs (electronic logging devices); driver shortages and employee turnover.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have announced a program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel efficiency of medium- and heavy-duty trucks for model years 2017 and beyond. Tractors will be required to achieve up to an approximately 20% reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018. Delivery trucks will be required to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 10% by model year 2018.