Buying a Class 8 truck in 2027? Here’s what we know
It's getting late into 2026, and truck manufacturers still don't know what the price and total cost of ownership of model-year 2027 trucks will be on Jan. 1.
There are many things any carrier looking to increase the size of its Class 8 truck or tractor fleet in 2027 should know. No. 1 is typically the outright price and the total cost of ownership. But no one knows what the price and TCO of model-year 2027 trucks will be on Jan. 1. The only things that are certain is uncertainty — which carriers have had by the bucketload in recent years — and that prices will rise. The key variable is Environmental Protection Agency nitrogen oxide regulations for heavy-duty trucks that should have been finalized months ago but, as of Nov. 12, were not. Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey said Nov. 5 that the engine maker expects EPA to issue a final rulemaking in December. Image Cummins CEO Jennifer Rumsey says the company expects EPA to issue the final rule in December. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics) EPA is expected to send the rulemaking to the White House by the middle of November for an expedited 30-day review, American Trucking Associations Vice President of Energy and Environmental Affairs Patrick Kelly said in an interview. Not everyone is quite so sure, however, with William “Rusty” Rush, CEO of Rush Enterprises, telling investors Oct. 27 during the truck dealer’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call that the trucking industry may not see a final rule until January or February. Image “I think from a customer perspective, I would be leaning toward wanting to pay some [nonconformance penalties],” Rush Enterprises William "Rusty" Rush said. (Rush Enterprises) Transport Topics examined the options open to carriers and how…
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