The bi-partisan proposal, or Bill H.R. 4321, was introduced in Congress this month by Reps. Jim Gerlach, a Pennsylvania Republican, and Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat. In their proposal, the lawmakers are advocating for replacing the excise tax on large trucks with a 6.3-cent increase in the federal diesel fuel tax.

In announcing the ATA’s support of the bill, ATA CEO Bill Graves said the proposal would “not only reinforce the ailing Highway Trust Fund, but would provide a boost to U.S. manufacturing and speed adoption of environmentally friendly technologies.”

The CEO went on to say that the proposal provides, “…the kind of pro-growth, deficit-trimming legislation that lawmakers should be looking at as they seek to address our nation’s economic woes.”

The ATA CEO also noted that by cutting the excise tax, the total purchase price for a new truck would decline by about $15,000, helping boost truck sales and truck manufacturing.

Late last month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced results of a study that demonstrated that by using technology to limit truck speed, accidents would be reduced and lives saved.

The study, commissioned by the FMCSA, was conducted by researchers at the American Transportation Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. The resulting report noted that “multiple analyses indicated a profound safety benefit for trucks equipped with an active [speed limiter].”

The researchers said that despite complaints from critics that speed limiting technology for large trucks would make it more dangerous for other vehicles that would be traveling faster, their data clearly showed otherwise.

By limiting the top speed of commercial trucks with electronic governance equipment, researchers say on-highway deaths and crash numbers likely would be substantially reduced.

“Domain research on the potential downside of speed deviations among vehicles that could occur due to the interaction of [speed limiter]-equipped vehicles and those without [speed limiters] seems to be far outweighed by the significant safety benefits associated with a reduction in absolute speed afforded by [speed limiters],” the study said.

The study was hailed by the American Trucking Associations and others, who have been pushing for speed limiters on commercial motor vehicles for years.

The next question is what the FMCSA will do with the results and how long it might take to create legislation that will push for implementation of limiters on all large trucks.

 The average price for on-highway diesel fuel in the U.S. for the week of April 9 was $4.148, up .006 cents from the prior week and about 7 cents per gallon higher for the same week last year.  All regions of the country are now averaging more than $4/gallon for on-highway diesel fuel. See the chart for specific, regionalized numbers.

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When President Obama visited UPS’ liquid natural gas (LNG) fueling depot in Las Vegas late in January, he said he favors tax credits for carriers who purchase LNG-fueled trucks.

The President’s visit, just days after his State of the Union Address to the nation, furthered his discussion of using the nation’s own resources he brought up during his speech.

Noting that the use of natural gas would provide for cleaner and less costly energy, and that the nation has nearly 100 years’ worth of natural gas, he added he would favor incentives to help build the LNG fueling infrastructure on major interstates.

As reported in the February issue of Driving to Success, Navistar is already committed to building LNG-fueled trucks, and many other manufacturers say they are developing LNG trucks as well, including Peterbilt, Cummins-Westport, Freightliner and Kenworth.

In our January (2012) newsletter, Driving to Success, we told you about the “Natural Gas Highway” being put in place by Clean Energy Fuels Corp.  The company has unveiled plans for the first 150 locations for liquid natural gas (LNG) fueling stations, and said there should be 70 stations opened by the end of the year in 33 states with the rest opening in 2013.   

On Feb. 1, Clean Energy Fuels Corp. once again made headlines when it announced, along with Navistar Inc., a program to provide natural gas-powered trucks for the same cost as diesel trucks for those customers who commit to purchasing their fuel through Clean Energy.  

Initially, Navistar will roll out medium-duty trucks for the program, but says it will expand the program to heavy-duty trucks by next year.  Navistar said it will build the vehicles while Clean Energy supplies the infrastructure so drivers can fuel them up across the country. 

Without the program, LNG-fueled vehicles typically would cost about $35,000 more than their diesel counterparts.  Once on the road, the LNG vehicles should prove less costly to operate than diesel rigs.

Clean Energy says the LNG fuel will sell for less than diesel – at least 50 cents to 60 less per gallon. LNG today is about $1.50 per gallon lower than diesel or gasoline (depending upon local markets).  Importantly, the use of natural gas fuel reduces costs significantly for vehicle and fleet owners, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions approximately 23% in medium to heavy-duty vehicles.   Also, nearly 100 percent of the LNG used here comes from North America.

The government’s proposed plan to make good on how highway projects are delivered, and refocusing the federal highway program on issues of national interest – including freight movement – earned praise in February from the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The surface transportation bill, put forth by U.S. House of Representative leaders and Chairman John Mica, includes safety provisions such as the creation of a drug and alcohol testing clearinghouse, and stricter driver training requirements.  It also begins the move toward establishing the first-ever crashworthiness standards for large trucks, something the ATA has always championed, said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. 

According to the ATA, the bill is beneficial for truckers and other highway users alike.  If implemented, he said, it will bring about significant improvements in how Americans travel. 

Other issues addressed by the bill include truck productivity and hours of service rules, as well as federal truck size-and-weight reforms.