Wisconsin’s Trucking Industry Can’t Afford EV Mandate

Consumer uncertainty has risen in recent months as the Environmental Protection Agency gears up for a crackdown on diesel-powered trucks and gas-powered cars: 30% of heavy-heavy-duty vocational trucks and 40% of regional day cabs will need to be zero-emission by 2032 and more than 50% of light- and medium-duty vehicles will have to be fully electric by 2032.

Given the consequences these mandates could have on our supply chains and Wisconsin’s economy, it’s clear the EPA hasn’t considered the individual needs of all 50 states.

Wisconsin summers can be challenging, with EVs losing up to 15% of their range in 95-degree heat. Charging and storing in extreme heat can also shorten battery life, leading to reduced efficiency and increased costs. Even more, consider our brutal winters. EV batteries lose significant range in cold weather, which can leave truckers stranded, especially with the lack of fast-charging stations. This unpredictability is a major issue. Unlike diesel-powered trucks, EVs can't maintain consistent performance in extreme cold, which severely impacts efficiency and reliability for truckers.

As a small business owner, investing in an electric truck is not feasible for a small business like mine. These trucks are projected to be significantly more expensive than their diesel counterparts. A regular semi-truck, for example, starts at just between $175,000 - $250,000 for a diesel-powered model but jumps to over $400,000 for the zero-emissions version. For a small trucking business, the upfront costs of purchasing an electric truck, combined with the need for specialized charging infrastructure, are simply prohibitive.

This financial strain is one reason why the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, National Corn Growers Association, American Farm Bureau Federation and American Petroleum Institute, recently sued the EPA over its heavy-duty vehicle emissions standards. The EPA’s mandate for zero-emission vehicles by 2032 imposes unrealistic burdens on trucking businesses, threatening their viability and disrupting supply chains, while overlooking low carbon solutions like biodiesel and ethanol.

Funny enough, these so-called “zero-emissions” trucks that the EPA is so adamantly pushing aren’t even “zero” emissions. In fact, this is just a label for what they really are, which is “displaced emissions.” The power has to come from somewhere whether it’s onboard the vehicle or from a power generation station located miles away from the charging infrastructure. And wind turbines and solar panels do not have the capacity to charge 3 million heavy commercial vehicles with the power required.

Moreover, the performance limitations of allegedly zero-emissions trucks are a major concern. Hauling heavy loads, which is a daily reality for most truckers including myself, drastically reduces an EV’s range. Current EV truck technology has a usable trip range of only 150-250 miles, far less than what’s needed for long-haul trucking. In comparison, my current diesel truck can run 1,200 miles on a single fill-up, with no range limitations. If you do the math, it’s clear that truckers who are forced to use electric counterparts are sure to see their hauling trips take nearly six times as long.

The practicality of electric trucks is further compromised by their long recharging times. Filling up a diesel tank takes just a few minutes, but charging an EV can take hours. Even the quickest-charging EVs available today need at least 18 minutes to go from 10% to 80% charge, and most take much longer. This downtime is lost productivity for truckers, translating directly to lost revenue.

And these are just some of the problems we will face. Not to mention the stress EV trucks will put on our nation’s infrastructure and the hidden environmental costs to manufacture lithium-ion batteries, essential for EVs. The EPA is misunderstanding the sheer meaning of “green.” Their regulation places unwanted strain on the entire nation’s electric grid and disregards the longevity of the machines that have been operational for decades and for hundreds of thousands of miles. In particular, many of the trucks I work alongside are well over 2 decades old, with more than 3 million miles on the hub. No one has had to manufacture a new truck, and its EV counterpart would’ve needed at least four replacements by now.

The push for electrification fails to consider the unique challenges faced by our nation’s truckers, especially in states like Wisconsin. Instead of ill-informed mandates from Washington, we should focus on a diversified approach that includes renewable diesel and other low-carbon fuels, which offer immediate and practical benefits without the massive economic disruptions posed by an all-electric mandate.

One thing I know for sure: electric vehicle mandates for the trucking industry don't fit with the real-world challenges we face every day.

Mike Nichols is the owner of M J Nichols Company, Inc. based in Chippewa Falls. He has been in the trucking business since 1986.

Mr. Nichols is a member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association