Seventeen green-conscious fleets across the U.S. and Canada \u2013 operating more than 62,000 combined tractors and 217,000 trailers \u2013 save more fuel than the national average, reporting a 3-percent jump in fuel economy, according to the Annual Fleet Fuel Study released by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE).<\/p>\n
In total, NACFE\u2019s study shows that the 17 fleets studied saved an accumulative $501 million on fuel when compared to the 2015 national average fuel spend of 1.7 million over-the-road class 8 trucks by purchasing a number of fuel-efficient technologies. NACFE says the fleets adopted a combination of nearly 70 technologies, and as a result of their investment, the fleet-wide mpg increased from 6.87 to 7.06 in 2015 \u2013 the largest margin of improvement in eight years of consecutive improvements.<\/p>\n
On a conference call about the results released, NACFE said that despite fuel prices dropping in 2015, the study found that fuel economy averages are still up.<\/p>\n
New technologies adopted by the fleets studied included electronically controlled transmissions, low-viscosity engine oil, and tire pressure inflation on trailers.\u00a0NACFE said the investment the 17 fleets made in these technologies are showing an average payback of 2.5 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cImprovements in both the fuel economy and bottom lines of the leading fleets this year provide a compelling call to action for the rest of the industry,\u201d said Mike Roeth, operation lead for CWR\u2019s Trucking Efficiency and executive director of NACFE. \u201cInvesting in efficiency technologies is the new normal. And these fleets are continuing to make investments because they do not want to be caught short when fuel prices go up again.\u201d<\/p>\n
NACFE said the trade cycle for the fleets in the study is more than five years, therefore it estimated the trucks in the study were about 16% more efficient than the 2010 model year trucks they replaced.<\/p>\n
Roeth added that fleets in the study were also increasing their adoption of technologies that would be required in the new GHG2 regulations that were released earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is clearly a need to increase the confidence in and\/or payback of many of these technologies for wider-scale use,\u201d Roeth said. \u201cManufacturers must improve the availability and payback of these technologies to profitably meet the requirements of the final GHG2 regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fleets involved in the study included:\u00a0Bison Transport,\u00a0CR England,\u00a0Cardinal Logistics,\u00a0Challenger Motor Freight,\u00a0Con-way Truckload,\u00a0Crete Carriers,\u00a0Frito Lay,\u00a0Maverick,\u00a0NFI Industries,\u00a0Nussbaum,\u00a0Paper Transport,\u00a0Prime,\u00a0Ryder,\u00a0Schneider National, and\u00a0United Parcel Service.<\/p>\n