The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently released research that highlights real-world environmental and safety benefits that could accrue from a repeal of the 12% Federal Excise Tax on new trucks, trailers, and truck equipment.
A World War I era tax, the Truck FET has long been an issue for buyers of new trucks and trailers. The tax currently adds $20,000 to more than $50,000 to the cost of each new truck purchased, thus acting as a strong deterrent to new truck and trailer sales.
This new research first estimates the age and annual mileage of the entire Class 8 truck population in the U.S., offering unique insight into the influence of older trucks on industry-wide environmental and safety metrics. The research then illustrates how removing the 12 percent Truck FET can accelerate the replacement of older trucks.
See also: Congress to tackle FET repeal, yet again
From an environmental perspective ATRI found that, as a Truck FET repeal increases demand for new vehicles, industry CO2 emissions will decrease at an accelerated rate. Each year as the industry adds newer, cleaner diesel vehicles to the fleet, emissions will be reduced annually by 1.2 million metric tons of CO2 over current truck purchases with the Truck FET in place, ATRI reported. This equated to cumulative savings of nearly 66 million metric tons of CO2 over a 10-year period.
Safety was also shown to benefit from a Truck FET repeal. The accelerated replacement of older trucks reduces the cost of safety technologies, thus adding more Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) equipment to the industry, preventing nearly 750 crashes per year and saving nearly $13.5 billion in crash costs over 10 years.
Finally, the report outlines key reasons why the Truck FET does not function well as a funding mechanism for the Highway Trust Fund, documenting the revenue volatility due to annual fluctuations in new truck sales, as well as the limited number of highway users that pay the tax in any given year. The research then calculates how the FET revenue can be replaced.
“Truck prices clearly impact annual sales for our dealers, and reduce our customers’ ability to add new equipment to their fleet. This report greatly reinforces one of the key justifications for repealing the FET on new trucks by quantifying the real-world benefits a repeal will have on the environment and highway safety,” said Jacqueline Gelb, President of the American Truck Dealers.
In March, the Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act of 2025, aimed at FET repeal, was introduced in the House by a bipartisan coalition of Congressmen.
The National Trailer Dealers Association has long called for the repeal.
“If Congress revisits the $4.5 trillion in Trump-era tax reforms this year, repeal of the FET may be included in the broader tax package. I believe the tax cuts present a natural opportunity to reshape revenue sources and tax burdens,” NTDA President Gwen Brown told TBB. “Likewise, since FET revenue contributes to the Highway Trust Fund any repeal would have direct implications. Again, the Highway Trust Fund reauthorization process offers a platform for lawmakers to revisit how infrastructure is funded.”
A copy of the full report is available on ATRI’s website here.
