Strong order numbers putting more clean diesel trucks on the road

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Updated Aug 21, 2018

New technology Class 8 diesel trucks in operation

Even with interest bubbling in electromobility as a greener method of transportation, clean diesel engines continue to size chunks of highway marketshare.

According to new research from the Diesel Technology Forum, Class 3-8 trucks model years 2011 and newer made up 36 percent of all commercial trucks on the road at the end of last year – a jump of 6 percent over 2016 and more than 10 percent higher than 2015.

According to the report, only about 21 percent of all commercial trucks Class 3-8 use gasoline, and about 4 percent use “other” fuels. Natural gas accounts for less than 1 percent.

Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, says the more than 4.9 million new-technology diesel trucks now on the road have removed more than 26 million metric tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 59 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air.

“On average, truckers saved $2,600 in fuel, which adds up to 138 million barrels of crude oil – that’s 50 percent of the entire U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saved by just a few thousand trucks,” he adds.

According to Fleet Advantage’s latest Truck Lifecycle Data Index, the newest Class 8 diesel trucks can save truckers up to $26,600 in fuel costs over a 2012 model – a 7.9 percent increase in savings, despite a higher average diesel price.

Newer trucks also offer NOx emissions 99 percent lower than previous generations, along with 98 percent fewer emissions of particulate matter. Beginning in 2011, all new heavy-duty trucks are equipped with selective catalytic reduction and particulate control technologies, which combine to achieve stringent new EPA emissions requirements for NOx emissions of no more than 0.20 grams per brake horsepower hour (g/BHP-hr.). This is in addition to particulate emissions levels of no more than 0.01 grams per brake horsepower hour (g/HP-hr.) established in 2007.

Indiana and Tennessee have the highest percentage of new-generation Class 8 diesel trucks at 66 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Florida, with a growth of 81 percent over 2016, has fastest-growing heavy duty clean diesel fleets by a wide margin.

Top 5 state for total newest generation clean diesel heavy-duty trucks 

  1. Indiana – 51 percent of heavy-duty vehicles in Indiana meet or exceed 2010 U.S. EPA emission standards for particulate matter and NOx.
  2. Texas – 36 percent of heavy-duty vehicles in Texas meet or exceed 2010 U.S. EPA emission standards for particulate matter and NOx. The state also is tops in the country for diesel-powered passenger vehicles.
  3. California – 23 percent of heavy-duty vehicles in California are at or above 2010 U.S. EPA emission standards for particulate matter and NOx.
  4. Illinois – 32 percent of heavy-duty vehicles in Illinois meet or beat 2010 U.S. EPA emission standards for particulate matter and NOx.
  5. Pennsylvania – 35 percent of heavy-duty vehicles in Pennsylvania meet or exceed 2010 U.S. EPA emission standards for particulate matter and NOx.
Jason Cannon has written about trucking and transportation for more than a decade and serves as Chief Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. A Class A CDL holder, Jason is a graduate of the Porsche Sport Driving School, an honorary Duckmaster at The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee, and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Reach him at [email protected]