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Jul 18, 2006 8:33 AM

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) is supporting a 400-pound weight exemption for truck idle reduction systems or auxiliary power units, a policy that is contained in the US Energy Policy Act of 2005.

“These technologies can reduce idling from trucks by as much as 90 percent, producing significant fuel and emission savings," said David Bradley, CTA president in a letter to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), noting that EPA estimates such idling reduction technology could reduce fuel consumption of a long-haul tractor by 7,200 liters (1,902 US gallons) per year.

The weight of these auxiliary heating/cooling units can reduce a truck’s payload by as much as 500 pounds, Bradley said. A report by the US Department of Energy’s Argonne Laboratories found that the weight of these auxiliary units decreased a trucking company’s overall revenue by as much 0.6 percent.

“CTA would strongly recommend maximizing this environmental opportunity by providing to all heavy-duty vehicles, tractor-trailers and straight trucks the full 400-pound exemption -- this should be provided on the gross vehicle weight of the complete configuration on all state, national and local roads,” he said. "Not doing so would create significant barriers to the full participation of the industry and significantly reduce the intended benefit of this measure contained in the Energy Policy Act.

“Furthermore, the 400-pound weight allowance should be provided for all technologies that reduce heavy-truck idling regardless of the product’s actual weight.”