Though Oregon environmental regulators have resolved a dispute over an electric truck sales mandate, the state’s farm and trucking industries remain concerned about the regulation’s consequences.

Last month, the truck manufacturer Daimler announced it was suspending sales of internal combustion vehicles in Oregon due to a state rule requiring sales of electric trucks, which became effective this year.

Daimler now says it’s resuming sales of internal combustion trucks, which were “paused” due to a “misunderstanding” of how Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality will account for sales of electric vehicles.

“This situation underscores the necessity for feasible, obtainable and clearly defined regulations, enabling companies to align their business practices accordingly,” a Daimler spokesperson said in an email.

While the interruption in Daimler truck sales was brief, critics say the regulation’s broader effects will still undermine the health of agriculture and transportation in Oregon over the long term.

“Any industry that uses diesel will be affected by this. It’s going to have a huge impact on the economy,” said Jana Jarvis, president and CEO of the Oregon Trucking Association.

Under the state’s “advanced clean trucks” rule, which was adopted in 2021, a growing percentage of all full-size pickups, vans, medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks sold in the state must be electric.

The exact percentage of electric vehicle sales depends on the class of truck, ranging from 7% to 11% in 2025 and increasing over the next decade. By 2035, the percentage will rise to 55% for pickups and vans, 40% for tractor-trailer trucks and 75% for other trucks.

The DEQ says the rule is “flexible” and “designed to ensure a smooth adoption” of electric trucks without making diesel-powered trucks unavailable to those who want them.

Though electric trucks are more expensive, they cost less to operate than diesel-powered vehicles and their price is expected to fall as sales volumes grow and the technology advances, according to DEQ. Grants and other government incentives can also make them more affordable.

However, Oregon’s implementation of the electric truck mandate is more “aggressive” than most other states, even though it only has a single charging station for such vehicles, said Jarvis.

“There are a number of ramifications to this particular policy,” she said.

Electric trucks have a range of about 200 miles per charge under ideal conditions, compared to more than 1,000 miles for a diesel truck with a full tank, she said.

Also, the vehicles rely on heavy batteries that effectively reduce the amount of cargo an electric truck can haul under road weight limits, Jarvis said.

Some trucking companies are considering moving out of Oregon to avoid the regulation, which will make it harder to haul freight in the state, Jarvis said.

Trucking companies based in other states can still serve Oregon, but that often requires traveling longer distances that render certain routes financially impractical, she said.

“If trucking companies move out of Oregon, there will be less capacity to move the freight,” Jarvis said. “Unless there’s enough profit for that route, you’re not going to bid on it.”

From the emissions perspective, the regulation is also likely to discourage trucking companies from replacing their fleets, thus keeping “dirty old diesel” trucks on the road longer, she said.

“It does nothing to clean up the environment,” she said.

The regulation imposes a cost that will be passed onto the agriculture industry in the form of costlier on-farm trucks and higher shipping bills, said Lauren Kuenzi, Oregon Farm Bureau’s director of government and political affairs.

“It is one more constraint for Oregon’s farmers and ranchers and their budgets,” she said.

Beyond the cost of the trucks, more frequent stops for charging will also add to transportation expenses, as truckers must be paid for that time, Kuenzi said.

The state government should prioritize resolving such operational problems before placing the “cart before the horse” with an electric vehicles sales mandate, she said.

“We’re making it more and more difficult for Oregon farmers and ranchers to do what they do,” Kuenzi said.