Decision time is getting close for refrigerated fleet operators who transport fresh or frozen cargo on California roads. Under current California Air Resources Board (CARB) environmental standards, operators must replace or upgrade transportation refrigeration unit (TRU) engines every seven years. That changes on Jan. 1, 2014. TRUs manufactured after that date will need to be changed out by Dec. 31, 2019. According to Tom Kampf, trailer product manager at Thermo King, a manufacturer of temperature control systems for a variety of mobile applications and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, “As a result, operators have a one-time opportunity to accelerate their purchasing plans and acquire TRUs manufactured in 2013, which will have the effect of expanding the useful life of their newly acquired units by an additional two years.”
Operators of large single-temperature fleets who keep their equipment for an extended period of time before replacement will likely have the most to gain by accelerating TRU purchases into the current year, according to Kampf.
Regardless of when they are delivered or installed, TRUs that are manufactured in 2013 are subject to the seven-year CARB timeline. As a result, some operators are moving planned purchases from early 2014 to the fourth quarter of this year, while others are taking deliveries now with plans to delay actual installation on their trailers until sometime next year.
Kampf goes on to say that in either case, operators will want to meet with TRU original equipment manufacturers or authorized dealers to discuss their needs and place their orders sooner rather than later. Manufacturers have finite manufacturing capacity for the remainder of the year and it is unlikely they will choose to carry finished goods inventory from 2013 into 2014, so the number of units manufactured in 2013 will be limited.
As the end of 2013 approaches, refrigerated fleet operators are putting the final touches on their equipment acquisition plans for the fourth quarter, for 2014 and beyond. While some will elect to acquire additional equipment manufactured this year, others will pursue other strategies.
For example, they may choose to purchase “evergreen” units that comply with both CARB requirements and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 Final standards that took effect Jan. 1, 2013. These single-temperature units meet the more stringent Ultra-Low-Emission Transport Refrigeration Unit In-Use Performance Standards (ULETRU). Evergreen TRU engines can continue to operate in California beyond the seven-year window without a level three diesel particulate filter (DPF) retrofit.
Still, other operators will become early adopters of next-generation TRU platforms that use new technologies and system architectures to provide significant improvements in environmental sustainability, fuel-efficiency, reliability and uptime and total life cycle costs. Operators with longer equipment replacement cycles will usually find that being early adopters of new, more fuel-efficient technologies will provide the best long-term return on investment.