Aluminum Senses Opportunity in Fed Mandate to Boost Fleet Fuel Economy
When the EPA and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently finalized a new rule requiring that trucking efficiencies improve up to 25 percent by 2027 in an effort to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the nation’s freight transportation activities, some were upset, but others such as the aluminum industry, sensed opportunity.
An industry group supporting aluminum noted: “Across the spectrum of the new rule – from combination tractors and the trailers they pull to vocational vehicles such as delivery trucks and school buses to heavy duty pickups and vans – aluminum componentry including wheels, extrusions, and sheet is cited as part of the lightweighting solution to help move the nation’s freight with less fuel and fewer emissions.”
As these standards are implemented, the aluminum industry plans to work closely with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers on cost-effective vehicle mass reduction and freight efficiency solutions which can help manufacturers and fleets meet the new standards, phasing in starting with the 2018 model year.
The group further noted that “mass reduction using aluminum is a proven and cost effective technology for achieving improved road vehicle fuel economy and CO2 emissions performance, and over the past 40 years aluminum use in automotive, light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles has increased steadily.”
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