{"id":7505,"date":"2020-09-15T16:38:07","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T14:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=7505"},"modified":"2020-09-15T16:38:07","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T14:38:07","slug":"fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/09\/15\/fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Fleets Share Fuel-Saving Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">J.B. Hunt saw fuel economy increase by 14% between 2007 and 2019. Photo: Deborah Lockridge<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Sustainability and fuel savings strategies vary greatly depending on each fleet\u2019s operations and applications. Some motor carriers may even need to adopt multiple strategies and specs for different parts of their fleet.<\/p>\n<div class=\"incontent02Ad\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A panel discussion at the American Trucking Associations\u2019 Technology &amp; Maintenance Council\u2019s Annual Meeting in Atlanta Feb. 25 featured three fleets with different operations and varying sustainability and fuel economy tactics.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>J.B. Hunt: Complex Operations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Tommy Cottingham, director of maintenance and procurement with J.B. Hunt, pointed out that the complex operations of the Arkansas-based company make a one-size-fits-all approach to fuel economy impossible. Dedicated Contract Services is the most challenging because of its equipment diversity \u2013 everything from typical highway trucks to ones equipped with PTOs and cranes to final-mile box trucks; with trailers ranging from dry van to dumps, car haulers, and more. Then there\u2019s the intermodal group, doing drayage and regional, with a lot of urban environments that \u201clend themselves to damage\u201d of things like aerodynamic add-ons. And in its truckload division, other people pull a large portion of its 7,000 trailers on a daily basis.<\/p>\n<div id=\"incontent01Form\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cottingham said the fleet saw fuel economy increase by 14% between 2007 and 2019. Some of the strategies that helps with that were the adoption of EPA-2010-tech trucks with selective catalytic reduction (SCR), which offered better fuel economy than their predecessors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Between 2013 and 2018 the company has been replacing its trailer fleet. \u201cEvery one of our dry vans are now equipped with skirts and low rolling resistance tires,\u201d said Cottingham. \u201cFor a few years there, we saw a really good pickup in fuel economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Spec\u2019ing automated manual transmissions delivered another 1% improvement, and further gains were seen when the company adopted adaptive cruise control and incentivized drivers to use cruise by offering a higher top speed of 65 mph while in cruise. The fleet believes in 13-liter engines and higher drive axle gear ratios, as well as customer-programmable engine options \u2013 but hasn\u2019t been able to find an auxiliary power unit that works in its application.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aerodynamics have also contributed to J.B. Hunt\u2019s success. \u201cAerodynamics is very important,\u201d he said. Even in operations that aren\u2019t classic long-haul that gain the most aero benefit. Its own data on intermodal drayage trucks in Chicago found that while the fuel-tank skirts do incur damage at times, but Cottingham said the fuel economy gains are worth it. One aerodynamic option J.B. Hunt does not employ are low-valance air dams, which are prone to damage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The company continues to evaluate new technologies, and is currently looking at tire inflation systems, rear trailer aero devices, and wheel covers and fairings. When evaluating technologies, the company looks for an 8% return on invested capital, which generally ensures there\u2019ll be an ROI in real world operating conditions.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Hirschbach: Don&#8217;t Overlook the Driver<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">John Vesey, a lease-operator with Hirschbach who also spent four years in the office, urged fleets in attendance to not overlook the driver\u2019s role in fuel economy, noting they can swing fuel economy as much as 30% in either direction. Hirschbach uses quarterly fuel-based incentives to encourage drivers to use cruise control, minimize idling, etc.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cYou want buy-in from your drivers,\u201d he said. \u201cFor us compliance is a culture, making sure the drivers understand you can be sustainable and still be profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As far as equipment, he said, \u201cit seems a lot of fleets get stuck looking at the whole bigger picture all at once\u201d and get overwhelmed. \u201cStart out with just one thing, like aero, idle and throttle governors, having a lower rear end ratio, lightweighting.\u201d Once you\u2019ve tackled pretty standard areas like that, he said, then you can fine tune your efforts by working on things such as low-viscosity lubricant and emerging technology like solar.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Vesey also emphasized the importance of relationships with vendors. \u201cResearch is a key to building trust,\u201d he said, recommending fleets ask for third-party tests and for customer contacts, and do plenty of research, asking vendors questions, and making sure they can actually deliver.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>C&amp;S Wholesale: Clean-Sheet Project<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">C&amp;S Wholesale Groceries runs about 1,000 power units and 7,200 trailers. It\u2019s the largest wholesale grocery distributor in the U.S. But when Vice President Chris Trajkovski got there about five years ago, the fleet really wasn\u2019t worried about fuel economy. \u201cWe\u2019re a hundred-year-old warehouse company that was very, very good at procurement and purchasing,\u201d he said. But for fuel economy, he had to start with a clean sheet.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"article-img\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img class=\"wrapImageCMS aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/fleetimages.bobitstudios.com\/upload\/trucking-info\/content\/article\/2020-02\/tmc2020-csgrocer-slide-dl-__-720x516-s.jpg\" alt=\"About five years ago, C&amp;S Wholesale Groceries began a &quot;clean sheet&quot; fuel economy project.\n - Photo: Deborah Lockridge\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption-description\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">About five years ago, C&amp;S Wholesale Groceries began a &#8220;clean sheet&#8221; fuel economy project. Photo: Deborah Lockridge<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWhat I\u2019ve seen is a lot of people try to bolt a lot of things on, but if you don\u2019t have the basics buttoned down, it\u2019s really tough to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He and his team embarked on a program that took about six months, developing a complex, robust ROI calculator.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the big tactics was smoothing out replacement cycles to take advantage of new fuel-saving technologies. \u201cA quarter of our tractors get replaced every year,\u201d said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have these peaks and valleys. We did the same thing with reefers and dry vans.\u201d Since 2017, C&amp;S Wholesale Groceries has decreased its diesel consumption by 20%. It has also increased reliability and enhanced driver satisfaction. \u201cStabilizing the fleet with a replacement plan was really key,\u201d Trajkovski said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI can\u2019t downplay the importance of specifications,\u201d he added. The team went through its specs line by line and went through every option, asking, \u201cwhat does this mean, and what will it get us if we do this option?\u201d he said. \u201cThere were little nuggets in there that delivered efficiency and uptime as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The company also has leveraged telematics, and It\u2019s testing electric transport refrigeration units.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe ask folks who introduce new things, \u2018how does it work outside of the lab?\u2019 We\u2019re not a tester of technology, nor are we going to be. We ask the question, can we integrate it into the fleet, and is it durable and reliable. The latest and greatest technology doesn\u2019t do us any good if it doesn\u2019t deliver the groceries at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget-full-width-box\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Practical Fuel-Saving Steps from an OE<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Jacob White, director of product marketing at Peterbilt, outlined a couple of practical steps that would help many over-the-road fleets:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>1. Reduce the trailer gap.<\/strong> He said most fleets run a 50-inch trailer gap or more, while research has shown that 43 inches or less is optimal. Shortening the trailer gap from 50 inches to 43 produces a 1% fuel savings at highway speeds, White said, \u201cwithout adding a dollar to the truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>2. Spec the best rear axle ratio for your operations.<\/strong> These ratios continue to become faster, but the most economic ratio depends on speed, grade and application, White said. When climbing a 6% grade, a 2.93 ratio outperforms the 3.08, on a 2% grade the 2.64 wins, and a 2.79 ratio wins the race from zero to 60, beating a 2.64 ratio by a full second. But, \u201cthe faster ratio will almost always be more fuel efficient over the road,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-16-gray\">by James Menzies and Deborah Lockridge<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"posted-by\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.truckinginfo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.truckinginfo.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/consultancy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/consultancy\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5377\" src=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" alt=\"\" width=\"858\" height=\"572\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The audit is a key tool to know the overall status and provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/consultancy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>J.B. Hunt saw fuel economy increase by 14% between 2007 and 2019. Photo: Deborah Lockridge Sustainability and fuel savings strategies vary greatly depending on each fleet\u2019s operations and applications. Some motor carriers may even need to adopt multiple strategies and specs for different parts of their fleet. A panel discussion at the American Trucking Associations\u2019&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[184,183],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7507,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7505\/revisions\/7507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}