Trucking companies get lean, and save money, by going green - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

egogakydo.wordpress.com
Volatile fuel costs and changing industry standards have spurned a greaterd awareness of and effort to operate more efficientluy thussaving money, with the addecd bonuses of reducing emissions and improving public and customef relations. As part of these efforts, many area companiexs participate inthe , whicuh is part of the . SmartWagy offers operation guidelines, certifies equipmentg for efficiency compliance and provides efficiency ratinges toparticipating companies.
The SmartWay prograjm both identifies fuel savingy strategies and provides tools for measuring and enactingthosr strategies, says Rick Blanton, vice presidenft of loss prevention at “We’v e been able to reduce emissions up to 23% in some Blanton says. He says Comtrak has taken steps such asusing low-friction drive train lubricantxs in all their using large capacity trailers and low profile tirew and reducing the amount of space between the tractor and the which improves the vehicle’s aerodynamics.
Lancaster says Mid-South Transpor t limits the speed of their tractors to 65 mph and only purchases engine and truck parts which complhywith SmartWay, all in an efforrt to reduce emissions. Lancaster says there has been an industry-wides turnaround in the approach to these issuesesince 2003, when changes were made to the engin e requirements. Tim Gatlin, president and CEO of , says stepss such as installing auxiliaruy power units in all the tractorsz inhis company’s fleet has helped the company save on fuel The APUs allow drivers to have powert in their cabs when parked without idling the engine and wastingh fuel.
“We’ve found that an APU reducex our engines idlingby 2,000o hours a year (per truck),” Gatlin says. A tractor generally uses one gallon of diesel fuel per hour of With a fleet of200 tractors, the savingws for Empire can add up quickly. Gatlibn says the APUs pay for themselves withina year. Gatlimn says Empire has also startedan in-house performancse program which provides pay incentives for drivers to be fuel efficient. Blantob says the low costs of the given fuel prices and increased government and societakl pressure tobe eco-friendly, will make the efficiency trend a lastinbg one for the trucking industry.