WASHINGTON, D.C. – All major heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers have met new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for emissions cuts and have been certified by EPA for full production, according to the Diesel Technology Forum.

The new big rigs are equipped with new particulate matter filters that trap emissions and result in 2007 trucks being 90-percent cleaner than the previous generation of trucks. Nitrogen-oxide emissions have also been reduced significantly with new technology.

“With the government certification of heavy-duty trucks now official, we can celebrate another milestone in the clean diesel transformation,” said Forum executive director Allen Schaeffer. “The nationwide availability of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in October 2006 provided 97-percent cleaner diesel fuel.”

Manufacturers now certified by the EPA include Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel Corp., International, Mack, and Volvo, meaning each is compliant with the most stringent diesel emissions standards in the world. The EPA predicts that these new trucks — once they fully replace the existing fleet — will reduce emissions of smog-forming gases by 2.6 million tons each year, and cut soot emissions by 110,000 tons annually.

Because 94 percent of goods are shipped via diesel trucks, consumers can soon expect that many products they see on store shelves will be delivered by the advanced technology trucks.