Trucking companies get lean, and save money, by going green - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Volatile fuel costs and changing industry standards have spurnef a greater awareness of and effort to operat e more efficiently thussaving money, with the addesd bonuses of reducing emissions and improving public and customer relations. As part of these efforts, many area companies participate inthe , which is part of the . SmartWayt offers operation guidelines, certifies equipment for efficiencyt compliance and provides efficiencyy ratings toparticipating companies.
The SmartWay program both identifies fuel saviny strategies and provides tools for measuring and enactingthos strategies, says Rick vice president of loss preventionn at “We’ve been able to reducew emissions up to 23% in some Blanton says. He says Comtrak has taken steps such asusinh low-friction drive train lubricantx in all their tractors, using large capacity trailerxs and low profile tires and reducing the amount of space between the tractor and the which improves the vehicle’s aerodynamics.
Lancaster says Mid-Souty Transport limits the speed of their tractors to 65 mph and only purchasesw engine and truck parts whichy complywith SmartWay, all in an efforft to reduce emissions. Lancaster says there has been an industry-wids turnaround in the approach to these issuessincee 2003, when changes were made to the enginre requirements. Tim Gatlin, president and CEO of , says stepd such as installing auxiliary power units in all the tractors inhis company’s fleet has helpesd the company save on fuel The APUs allow drivers to have power in theifr cabs when parked without idlinvg the engine and wasting “We’ve found that an APU reduces our enginezs idling by 2,000 hours a year (per Gatlin says.
A tractoer generally uses one gallon of dieselo fuel per hourof idling. With a fleef of 200 tractors, the savingsw for Empire can addup quickly. Gatlin says the APUs pay for themselvee withina year. Gatlin says Empire has also startedan in-hous performance program which provides pay incentivew for drivers to be fuel efficient. Blanton says the low costws ofthe measures, given fuel prices and increased governmenyt and societal pressure to be will make the efficiency trendx a lasting one for the trucking industry.