"While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened," Obama said in a statement. "We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. They were from the people who build, buy, and drive these trucks. And today, I'm proud to have the support of these companies as we announce the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse-gas pollution from medium- and heavy-duty trucks."

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed the standards in coordination with stakeholders. This follows the administration's announcement last month of an agreement with a dozen major automakers to increase fuel economy to 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025. (see Aug. 5 AASHTO Journal)

"More efficient trucks on our highways and less pollution from the buses in our neighborhoods will allow us to breathe cleaner air and use less oil, providing a wide range of benefits to our health, our environment, and our economy," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.

In a statement released by the American Trucking Associations, President and CEO Bill Graves said the fuel standards are welcome news.

"Our members have been pushing for the setting of fuel-efficiency standards for some time and today marks the culmination of those efforts," Graves said. 

In 2007, ATA endorsed a six-point sustainability program that included a proposal to set technologically feasible efficiency standards.

"While it is too early to know all the potential effects of this rule, we do know it sets us on the path to a future where we depend less on foreign oil, spend less on fuel, and contribute less to climate change," Graves said.

Under the comprehensive new national program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse-gas pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons, according to the Obama administration. The joint USDOT/EPA program will include a range of targets that are specific to the diverse vehicle types and purposes. Vehicles are divided into three major categories: combination tractors (semi-trucks), heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and vocational vehicles (such as transit buses and refuse trucks).

Certain combination tractors -- commonly known as big rigs or semi-trucks -- will be required to achieve up to a 20% reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions by Model Year 2018, saving up to four gallons of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

More information is available at www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy. A fact sheet, "Paving the Way Toward Cleaner, More Efficient Trucks," is available at 1.usa.gov/truckfuelfacts. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood blogged about the new truck rules at bit.ly/LaHood080911.