Pressure builds in ’02 engine debate

WASHINGTON (July 19, 2002, via truckinginfo.com) — The war of words continues to heat up as the October emissions deadline draws near. The American Trucking Associations has filed a brief in support of Caterpillar in its suit against the federal government, while Cummins and Caterpillar continue to go head-to-head over the new engines and the Clean Air Trust attacks draft legislation aimed at helping motor carriers deal with the fallout.

The ATA brief is very similar to one filed in support of Detroit Diesel in a similar lawsuit. Both briefs point out that motor carriers are the ones who will bear the brunt of the costs of new engines required by the regulations – costs that will be far more than what the EPA originally estimated.

“The dramatic cost increases associated with the untested first generation EGR-equipped trucks threaten to wreak havoc on the trucking industry,” reads the brief, “which is dominated by small businesses that are ill-equipped to absorb such enormous increases in operational costs. Any significant negative impact on the trucking industry would be felt throughout the United States economy because of the widespread reliance on the industry for the transportation and delivery of goods.”

Cummins was the first manufacturer to announce that it has an engine certified to meet the new standards, although Mack received certification this week for its ASET cooled exhaust gas recirculation on-highway engines. Caterpillar, whose new ACERT engines won’t be ready until 2003, has challenged the Cummins certification, saying it uses an illegal “defeat device.”

In the continuing battle between the two engine makers, Cummins this week told Stark’s Component Ledger that a “no-buy” pattern predicted for the fourth quarter of this year by Caterpillar is an unrealistic claim amid signs that the U.S. economy is recovering from an economic recession.

A Cummins spokesman told the business journal that Cummins does not agree with Caterpillar’s assessment of U.S. Class 8-type truck business issued last May that said there would be a “no-buying” pattern in the heavy-duty trucking industry after Oct. 1.

“Cummins believes that it is unrealistic to expect a ‘no-buy’ in the fourth quarter. In the macro-economy, freight is up, manufacturing is up, and the economy as a whole is pulling out of recession. Businesses will be moving freight and trucking companies will need to buy equipment to satisfy their customers.”

However, Caterpillar isn’t the only manufacturer expecting truck and component sales to tank in the fourth quarter. In announcing Dana’s most recent quarterly results, chairman and CEO Joe Magliochetti predicted fourth quarter demand to be “decidedly weaker.” Similarly, ArvinMeritor expects a drop in demand during the first half of their fiscal 2003, which begins Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, the Clean Air Trust is attacking U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, R-Ga., saying Collins’ draft bill “would make taxpayers foot the bill for dirty diesel engines.”

According to the Trust, Collins’ bill would require that non-compliance penalties that engine makers pass on to customers “be paid by the (EPA) Administrator to the purchaser of such engine.” The legislation has not yet been introduced in Congress.