Diesel to Power U.S. Economy
An auto industry group has predicted that the diesel engine industry will play a vital role in helping the U.S. economy grow and recover from the economic slowdown of the last few years.
The report states that the diesel industry (comprised of refiners, engine and technology manufacturers and the service side) contributed $480 billion to the U.S. economy in 2009 (with 1.25 million jobs). This new report predicts that these numbers will grow as manufacturers adjust to tougher U.S. fuel standards.
“It is in our national interest to explore and diversify our pool of fuels and energy technologies for the future,” said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel
Technology Forum, a nonprofit educational group of diesel-industry companies at a news conference.
The report comes after the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration drafted new fuel-efficiency and greenhouse-gas emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses, which run mostly on diesel fuel.
The standards require 10 to 20 percent reductions in fuel consumption and emissions. These reductions are expected to encourage research and development into new technologies that can meet those goals. Diesel is already 20 to 40 percent more fuel-efficient than conventional gasoline, and unsurprisingly, sales of diesel-powered vehicles are expected to rise in the next few years (from 3% of passenger vehicles to 10%). Click here for more on the role diesel will play in the U.S. economy.
Clearly, this kind of growth will also mean an increase in automotive career opportunities across North America. A rise in the amount of diesel-run vehicles will see increased demand for specialized automotive service technicians, auto salesmen, and automotive service operators, among other career opportunities in the emerging diesel auto industry. As we’ve discussed in the past, there may be a lot of doom and gloom in the international economic news, but the automotive job market remains an important cog in North American economies. The time, in other words, is right for you to start an automotive training program.
