Heavy pre-buying for ’02 emissions would hurt truck OEMs, says International president

ATLANTA (Feb. 14, 2002, via truckinginfo.com) — The impact of 2002 emissions standards on price and performance is a hot topic among truck buyers, but Steve Keate, president of International Truck & Engine’s truck group, said pre-buying to beat the October changeover “is definitely not in the best interest of the truck manufacturing industry.”

Manufacturers and dealers have suffered through depressed demand, production cutbacks, and layoffs over the last couple of years, Keate said at a heavy-duty manufacturers’ forum in Atlanta yesterday. “The last thing this industry needs at this point is a short-term bump in demand followed by a significant falloff after October,” he added.

Keate would not be specific, but said International is committed to managing production rates in order to avoid a boom/bust situation. International produces class-8 trucks at a plant Chatham, Ont.

Buyers are skittish about the effect new emissions standards will have on the price and performance of heavy-duty diesel engines. They require significant design changes to comply with the new rules, alterations that could add $3000 to $5000 US to the price of a new truck and reduce fuel economy by 2 to 5%, depending on the application and the engine, Keate said.

International engines are not part of the group which, through an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, must comply with 2004 standards by October 2002.

However, Keate said the company has invested millions of dollars in modifications to International trucks to accommodate other manufacturers’ engines.