Heavy Truck Rule Touts Aluminum as #1

AUGUST 2011: The Obama Administration announced new commercial vehicle fuel economy regulations, embraced by truck and engine manufacturers, as well as by environmental groups, that show aluminum above all other materials as having the greatest potential to  safely reduce vehicle weight to boost fuel economy and cut emissions. The final rule published this month by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires improvements to trucks and buses built from 2014 to 2018 that will reduce the nation’s oil consumption by an estimated 530 million barrels and cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 270 million metric tons annually, in part because they can be made lighter with aluminum.

In finalizing the rule, EPA and NHTSA evaluated aluminum, high strength steel and composites to rate the greatest mass reduction opportunities as the industry transitions away from traditional, heavier steel.  Both agencies, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), showed aluminum far above the others as offering the greatest benefits. 

Currently, an average Class 8 truck uses more than 1,000 pounds of aluminum, making up about four percent of total tractor weight.  Calling attention to data provided by the aluminum industry, the rule sets a target of 400 additional pounds in weight reduction for the new standards.  In their data-driven analysis, EPA and NHTSA evaluated 29 specific weight reduction opportunities for material substitution, all which quantify aluminum’s vastly superior ability to save weight as compared to competing materials.         

Table II-9: Weight Reduction Values (sourced from pages 103-104)