Dive Brief:

• The Obama administration is going to start devising rules for a second round of fuel-efficiency requirements for medium and heavy trucks in an effort to further reduce foreign-oil use and to drive down fuel prices.
• Current rules require these truck classes to raise mileage in an effort to reduce fuel use by as much as 20% by 2018. The president says the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Transportation have to start work to publish new rules next year and have them in effect ion March 2016.
• Standards for heavy trucks have different classes to deal with a category that includes both over-the-road vehicles and trucks used on construction sites.

Dive Insight:

The focus on heavy trucks comes after years of unregulated fuel efficiency. Estimates put their portion of transportation-related greenhouse gases at 23%, which makes them a target in emissions-reducing efforts.