Study Concludes That Improving Truck Fuel Economy Would Create More Than 120K New US Jobs by 2030

Strengthening the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty trucks could create as many as 124,000 jobs in the US by 2030, with all 50 states experiencing net job growth, according to a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and CALSTART. Efficiency improvements could save class 8 fleet truck owners more than $120,000 per tractor-trailer over eight years and owner-operators more than $80,000 per tractor over 10 to 15 years, assuming an average $3.50 per gallon fuel price.

The report comes shortly before an anticipated announcement from the Obama Administration on a plan to set national standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for heavy- and medium-duty trucks.

Using existing and emerging fuel-saving technology, the United States could save four times more oil on an annual basis by 2030 than the volume expected from expanded offshore drilling in that same year, the report, Delivering Jobs: The Economic Costs and Benefits of Improving Heavy Duty Vehicle Fuel Economy, notes.

Medium- and heavy-duty trucks represent only 4% of all vehicles on US highways, but they consume more than 20% of on-road transportation fuels. Improving the average fuel economy of these trucks by 3.7 mpg with current and near-term technologies would reduce US annual oil consumption by 11 billion gallons in 2030, according to UCS.

Investing in fuel efficiency technologies for heavy-duty trucks would create jobs in the manufacturing sector and throughout the entire economy because fuel savings outweigh the cost of more efficient trucks. Our report demonstrates that improving the gas mileage of these vehicles not only would provide opportunity for economic growth and job creation, but would strengthen our energy security and reduce global warming emissions as well.

—Don Anair, a UCS senior analyst and co-author of the report

Long-haul, heavy-duty tractor-trailers now consume some 22 billion gallons
of fuel per year, according to the report—the largest amount of fuel used by any sector of the
US medium- and heavy-duty trucking industry. Recent analyses of
efficiency technologies for long-haul tractors pulling van trailers cited by the study show that fuel economy gains of 65 to 100% are possible by 2017. Enabling technologies include advanced aerodynamics; low rolling resistance tires;, and incremental improvements in engine performance through better combustion techniques.

Medium-duty-trucks could also
benefit from better aerodynamics; low rolling resistance tires; more efficient
conventional and electric-hybrid drivetrains; and lightweight materials. According to two recent analyses, hybridization alone could boost
fuel efficiency 40% or more, while a combination of more
conventional technologies could improve fuel efficiency by more than 35%.

UCS found that net cost savings from more efficient trucks would total $24 billion in 2030 at fuel prices of about $3.50 per gallon, after factoring in the cost of efficiency technologies.

CALSTART, a leading advanced transportation technologies consortium, examined the economic impact that advanced truck technologies available between 2020 and 2030 will have on truck owners and found lifecycle cost savings for all trucks, based on the conservative assumption of $3.50 a gallon for gasoline and diesel fuel.

Report findings include:

• Net job increases nationwide: 63,000 additional jobs in 2020 and 124,000 in 2030. All states would experience net job growth