LITTLE ROCK — Tougher emission standards for 2010-model heavy trucks have salesmen across Arkansas turning to manufacturing representatives for better explanations of dueling tailpipe technologies.
Manufacturers are introducing the new exhaust systems to meet federal mandates for pollution control for heavy-duty engines.
All engine manufacturers but one are using the same exhaust systems. A similar situation occurred in 2004, a year when engine makers - except for lone holdout Caterpillar - used the same exhaust technology.
For 2010, Navistar International is the only manufacturer not using a system that requires urea - a nonreactive chemical found in urine.
And while information about the competing technologies in the trade press has attempted to clarify the related technical details, insiders say many have added to the confusion.
In a market where everybody else is going with a different technology except one company, "you're going to have different stories flying," said Frank Owings, general manager of Tri-State Truck Center Inc. in Little Rock.
Tri-State recently hosted a luncheon with a Volvo representative in Little Rock, he added. Volvo, a Swedish manufacturer, is pushing the more common "selective catalytic reduction" exhaust system that requires the urea to neutralize nitrogen oxide.
The luncheon "was necessary to educate ourselves as well as our customers" about the new system, Owings said.
Customers will need to know where urea will be available for purchase, he said, since some engines will limit a truck's speed to 5 mph when the urea runs out.
Representatives from Cummins and Detroit Diesel, both of whose engines use the urea-based exhaust system, said recently that urea will retail for about $3.99 gallon and can be found at truck stops.
The engine manufacturer representatives gave a pre-sentation in Springdale as part of an event organized by Truck Centers of Arkansas.
Adam Arrington, general manager at Truck Centers of Arkansas in Springdale, said there's been a lot of misinformation about exhaust systems in the trade press.
It's good to have representatives "clear up articles and press releases that are not accurate," he said.
Navistar International, which makes Internationalbrand trucks along with several other products, is the only manufacturer going down a different path.
Much of the general misunderstanding surrounds Navistar's use of the same technology that helped it meet a previous Environmental Protection Agency emission deadline.
The Warrenville, Ill.-based manufacturer is using an "advanced exhaust-gas recirculation" exhaust system.
Unlike the urea system, the recirculation system uses cooled exhaust to lower levels of nitrogen oxide. The engine technology is expected to tack on another $8,000 to the cost of a truck.
The 2010 engines with the urea system cost an average of $9,000 more than the 2007 versions without urea-based exhaust systems.
All trucks with the new engines are also heavier. Both technologies, however, are promising increased fuel efficiency. "A couple of different [exhaust] strategies are being used," said Joe Suchecki, a spokesman for the engine manufacturing association in Chicago. "We've had a little bit of that in the past when the 2004 standard was set. Most [engine manufacturers] went with exhaust-gas recirculation, but Caterpillar had a different approach."
In 1997, the EPA issued new emission standards for heavy-duty diesel engines starting with the 2004-modelyear trucks.
Additional emission deadlines were set with the 2007- and 2010-model-year trucks.
The position that Navistar International took is pretty extreme, said Mike Hocut, a branch manager with the MHC Kenworth/Volvo dealership in Springdale.
The company could wind up being the hero if it turns out Navistar's product is the better solution, he said, adding that it is still too early to know how the engines will measure up.
"Everybody's got the best invention and the perfect solution," Hocut said, naming manufacturers such as Cummins and Detroit Diesel. But, "until those trucks hit the street, we won't know if this is correct or not."
Reported sales of trucks with 2010 engines at several sales locations in the state have been light so far.
Nationally, truck sales have fallen 35 percent in a year-over-year comparison using data for the first seven months, according to Automotive News Data Center.
This year 94,515 trucks have been sold, compared with 145,935 trucks in the 2008 period.
Arrington of Truck Centers of Arkansas said that because of the soft freight economy, trucking companies are postponing the purchase of 2010 trucks; however, 2009 sales are anticipated to be in line with the region's volume from last year, about 150,000 units.
Owings, of Tri-State, said small- to medium-sized trucking companies are buying new trucks.
And while freight tonnage has not come back, those companies are realizing that they don't have to put off a purchase any longer.
"Activity has picked up quite a bit over the last 60 days," he said. "We've been encouraged."
Business, Pages 75, 82 on 09/20/2009