Largest-Ever Fuel Economy Study Tracks Eight Fleets, Eight Years, 60 Technologies

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has released its benchmark study on fleet fuel efficiency, the “2011 Fleet Fuel Efficiency Benchmark Study.”  The report compares the results of eight major North American fleets on their adoption of various methods for fuel efficiency, and identifies benchmark competencies of the eight companies in different subject areas.

According to Fleet Owner, the study takes data from 8 major fleets – Werner Enterprises, Frito Lay, C.R. England, Challenger Motor Freight, Schneider National, Con-Way Truckload, GTI and Ryder– and compares the results of 60 fuel-saving technologies and management practices.

Truckinginfo.com is calling the eight-year-long assessment the largest ever fuel economy benchmarking study to be released, representing 75,000 OTP tractors and 130,000 53-ft trailers running in 2010 alone a combined 3.1 billion miles and consuming 496 million gallons of fuel.

The participating fleets were found to save about US$4,400 per year in fuel costs as a result of their fuel-saving initiatives. The fleets gave data on such products as widebase single tires, trailer aero devices and anti-idle hardware, Truck News said.

The report organizes data according to what worked well enough to implement quickly across the fleet. It tracks the adoption rates of the separate technologies and practices, classifying them on a scale ranging from quickly adopted for 100% of a fleet, to stopped, or not purchased in order to provide a peer-based review on real experience for others in the industry to identify the most effective technologies and techniques, Fleet Owner said.

The full study package – the 28-page report, a complete data set of findings, and online training session is available from NACFE for $795.  An Executive Summary Report is available for $195.