The American Trucking Associations said new emission standards for heavy-duty trucks that were announced last week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have unachievable targets and will carry real consequences for the U.S. supply chain and movement of freight throughout the economy.

“ATA opposes this rule in its current form because the post-2030 targets remain entirely unachievable given the current state of zero-emission technology, the lack of charging infrastructure and restrictions on the power grid,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Given the wide range of operations required of our industry to keep the economy running, a successful emission regulation must be technology neutral and cannot be one-size-fits-all. Any regulation that fails to account for the operational realities of trucking will set the industry and America’s supply chain up for failure.”

The EPA announced a final rule, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3,” that sets stronger standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty (HD) vehicles beginning in model year 2027. The new standards will be applicable to HD vocational vehicles (such as delivery trucks, refuse haulers, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle, school buses, etc.) and tractors (such as day cabs and sleeper cabs on tractor-trailer trucks).

While EPA’s final rule includes lower zero-emission vehicle rates for model years 2027-2029, ATA stated forced zero-emission vehicle penetration rates in the later years will drive only battery-electric and hydrogen investment, limiting fleets’ choices with early-stage technology that is still unproven.

“The trucking industry is fully committed to the road to zero emissions, but the path to get there must be paved with commonsense,” Spear said. “While we are disappointed with today’s rule, we will continue to work with EPA to address its shortcomings and advance emission-reduction targets and timelines that are both realistic and durable.”

A recent study commissioned by the Clean Freight Coalition highlighted the significant infrastructure investment needs to electrify the nation’s medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleet, and a recent report from the American Transportation Research Institute identified the many challenges facing commercial-vehicle electrification in the areas of U.S. electricity supply and demand, electric vehicle production and truck charging requirements.