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Diesel emission standards change again in January 2010, but unlike the previous modifications when all manufacturers used essentially the same emission-controlling technology, medium-duty truck buyers next year will have a choice of competing systems.

Chief executive officers of three major fleets said their companies have saved substantially by using several of the products and methods designed for the most fuel efficiency.

A House cap-and-trade energy bill would “add another layer of volatility” to the already erratic price of diesel fuel that could jeopardize the economic viability of trucking companies, Tommy Hodges, first vice chairman of American Trucking Associations, said last week.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Freightliner dealer TAG Truck Center held an open house here for customers earlier this month to demonstrate a 2010 tractor that uses selective catalytic reduction and answer questions about the emission technology Freightliner will use to meet tougher emission standards.

Truck and engine manufacturer Navistar Inc. last week leveled new allegations against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accusing the federal regulator of privately and illegally giving its competitors the green light to deploy a selective catalyst reduction emission control technology that could be implemented only with an “illegal relaxation” of EPA’s 2010 nitrogen oxide emission standard.

Still smarting from record fuel costs last year and fighting to survive a global recession, the trucking industry is wincing over a five-week run-up in diesel prices, capped by a 14.6-cent jump last week.