OTTAWA — Earlier this month, federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice revealed Canada’s plans to harmonize passenger vehicle fuel economy standards with the U.S.

The minister also noted that a plan for heavy trucks was in the works, and that rule would also be harmonized with American standards.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance says a formal announcement could come sometime in May, but so far few details have emerged from either country, including how fuel economy will even be measured.

The CTA expects the U.S. rule to be similar to California’s recent fuel economy regulations for heavy trucks, which require truck owners to meet specified GHG reduction targets when buying power and trailer equipment. And in turn, the CTA expects Canada’s rule to mirror the U.S. rule.

The national truck lobbyist, however, has been calling upon the federal government to work with it on an initiative dubbed enviroTruck, which it says probably contains most of the components the industry will need to comply. The CTA is cautioning the minister against a “one-size-fits-all” solution that does not take account of the requirements for different vehicle configurations depending on operating requirements and the significant differences in weights and dimensions standards in Canada versus the U.S.

“Trucking is not a homogenous industry,” says David Bradley, CTA’s CEO. “There are all kinds of issues relating to the type and weight of the commodity being shipped, the distance, the region of the country, etc., that need to be considered. You can put certain rear aerodynamic fairings on a van trailer, for instance, but not on a flat-deck.”

Moreover, there are significant regulatory barriers in Canada to introducing some of the currently available and proven GHG-reducing devices.

“The current truck weights and dimensions standards in Canada were developed in the mid-1980’s, long before environmental concerns became the consideration they are today,” says Bradley.

“Also, while it’s obviously a good idea to harmonize with the United States as much as possible, you can’t simply take US standards and superimpose them on Canada,” he adds. “It’s not like cars which can be operated in either country; Canadian truck configurations – in terms of allowable truck weights and dimensions – are different from those in the United States. Canada tends to allow higher weights; the trucks here can carry more payload and in total attain better fuel efficiency, compared to the United States.”

CTA says it is imperative that this be taken into account.

Says Bradley, “if the US were to move toward adopting some more Canadian-like configurations, that could go a long way towards enabling the U.S. industry to comply with the new fuel economy standards; the Canadian industry, on the other hand, would likely have to take additional action to get the same percentage improvement in fuel economy.”

Bradley also says that Canada will need to match the U.S. in terms of incentives, such as rebates, tax allowances, etc., to enable the industry to make the necessary purchases.