When PACCAR announced its plans for a $209 million expansion at its diesel engine manufacturing facility in Columbus, it was good news for the local economy. The additional 100 jobs created is no small matter.
Beyond the local economic impact, the announced expansion gives us a glimpse into what the trucking industry sees as its future power source, especially where diesel is concerned.
If PACCAR’s financial health is any indicator of the overall health of the $700-plus billion trucking industry market, the future is bright. According to PACCAR CEO Preston Feight’s annual letter to shareholders, PACCAR saw record revenues of $28.82 billion and record net income of $3.01 billion in 2022, marking the 84th consecutive year of earning a net profit.
The letter also noted the company’s commitment to addressing climate change and investment in the development of electric, hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cell engines.
The plans call for a new $30 million facility devoted to refurbishing the company’s engines, extending their expected life from one million miles to two million miles. The larger investment – $179 million – is devoted to upgrading existing operations. Those upgrades are at least partially aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the company’s engines.
While locally we identify PACCAR with the diesel engines they create in western Lowndes County, the company’s embrace of other low emission technologies reflects what’s happening in the broader trucking industry.
How soon – and to what degree – those alternates replace diesel engines is widely debated. As one industry expert put it, “The future will be more eclectic than electric.”
While electric and fuel cell engines offer the surest way to get to the goal of zero emissions, it’s worth noting that diesel technology has made tremendous strides in reducing emissions.
No doubt, older readers will distinctly recall when big diesel trucks belched black noxious smoke into the air. You could see and smell the emissions even from a distance.
Those days are gone. Diesel technology has reduced carbon emissions to “near zero,” diesel advocates say.
While the challenge for diesel engines differs from that of their alternatives, the changes needed to get to the goal of zero emissions will be costly.
There’s little doubt in the industry that zero emission will be a reality, though.
“Climate change is no longer a future problem,” Colin Murphy, Deputy Director of the UC Davis Policy Institute, said. “Our choice is not whether we pay money to go green or not. The choice is do we pay money to reduce carbon emissions or do we keep paying money to helicopter people off roofs and rebuild destroyed towns.”
That view isn’t limited to “climate do-gooders.” The leaders of many of our local industries say very similar things, and PACCAR’s commitment to sustainability – diesel and otherwise – is yet another reason we’re proud to have them in Lowndes County.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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