Trump tells Peterbilt workers proposed EPA NOx revision would cut $6,000 per truck

President Donald Trump visited Peterbilt’s Denton, Texas, plant on Oct. 1 and told workers that a proposed rollback of heavy-duty NOx rules would cut an estimated $6,000 from the cost of each truck, according to Transport Topics on Oct. 2.

The comments referred to an EPA proposal unveiled July 9 that would revise NOx tailpipe rules adopted under the prior administration. The agency would keep the requirement that heavy-duty NOx emissions fall to 35 milligrams per horsepower-hour from 200 milligrams per horsepower-hour, but it would ease warranty requirements and let manufacturers sell trucks that do not meet the standard by paying a fee tied to the level of noncompliance. The changes have not been finalized. They take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and manufacturers are pressing EPA for a clearer timeline.

Paccar CEO Preston Feight said the company plans to keep selling current engine configurations while staggering the model-year 2027 rollout. Trump also claimed the U.S. added 60,000 manufacturing jobs this year and that heavy truck manufacturing is up about 31%. More than 2,500 people work at the 700,000-square-foot Denton plant.