Cutting the amount of diesel fuel trucks consume is important to the trucking industry, Wisconsin’s economy and the environment. That’s why motor carriers are increasingly turning to programs to reduce fuel use, particularly eliminating truck idling time.

Consider that long-haul trucks burn about 20 million barrels of diesel fuel each year while idling, according to Argonne National Laboratory. The engines provide power for such things as heaters, air conditioning, microwaves, televisions and maintaining temperatures in refrigerated units. An average truck gulps more than a gallon each hour while idling or 7 percent of all fuel used.

Moreover, the trucking industry is highly competitive, so truckers need to reduce costs as much as possible. There are more than 590,000 carriers in the U.S.; 96 percent have 20 trucks or less. The industry has always had a very low profit margin of around 2 percent, reports the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association.
Add in the recession, which reduced freight hauled by trucks by 8.3 percent in 2009, and low freight rates and it’s no wonder that the average trucker has had a tough time surviving. In fact, 3,065 carriers went out of business in 2008 and another 850 failed in the first six months of 2009, according to Avondale Partners.

A healthy trucking industry is vital to the state and national economies. Nearly every product consumed by Americans is carried on a truck at some point. Trucks hauled 69 percent of all the tons of freight transported in the United States in 2008. In Wisconsin, trucks carry 83 percent of all manufactured freight, and more than 77 percent of communities are served by trucks only. 

From an environmental standpoint, idling trucks produce an estimated 6.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, 35,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and 60,000 tons of carbon monoxide, according to the Argonne National Laboratory.

ROI on Idle Investments
Some larger companies began investing in idle-elimination equipment and other measures several years ago, but the initial investment for auxiliary power units that reduce idling time is often a deterrent for smaller carriers.

The state Department of Commerce began an idle-elimination grant program in 2006 and has awarded 411 grants totaling $5.8 million to defray part of the costs of auxiliary power units. This resulted in the installation of 1,594 units, 328 of which went to small carriers (50 or fewer trucks). In 2009, the program was funded with money from the federal stimulus American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Through the grant program, I saw the advantages [of idle-elimination units],” says Pauline Jaske, president and owner of Fairway Transit, Pewaukee. Her 40-truck firm received state grants for two units in 2006 and has since added 16 more.

The price of an auxiliary power unit, which can run as high as $9,000, is “a lot of money to spend on a truck,” Jaske says. But one company dump truck sporting an auxiliary unit saved 2,475 gallons of fuel, or $7,425, in one year. “It was driven by a very conscientious driver,” she adds.

Greg Koepel, vice president of Roehl Transit Inc., Marshfield, says his company has auxiliary power units on 1,100 of its 1,700 trucks and a company top speed of 63 miles per hour. It also reduces fuel use and emissions by deploying aerodynamic trucks and trailer skirting. 

“But it’s not the equipment that’s most important in fuel efficiency,” he says. “It’s the way people drive.”

The company stresses a continuous education program on fuel-efficient driving for its employees. Roehl has received the SmartWay Excellence Award four years in a row from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which runs this voluntary program to reduce fuel use and emissions.

At DuPlainville Transport in Sussex, John Drake, transportation manager, says his company invested about $500,000 in idle-reduction equipment in 2005. The units saved his 51-truck fleet roughly 10 to 12 percent.

“That made for a 14-month ROI,” says Drake.     

The company also has an incentive bonus program for drivers who keep idling time to less than 10 percent. It has installed several features to make its trucks more aerodynamic and uses energy-efficient tires. The speed limit for DuPlainville trucks is 60 miles per hour, netting big diesel savings compared to operating at higher speeds.      

Schneider National Inc., based in Green Bay, is the nation’s largest truckload carrier and has had a green program to improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases since 1978. The company claims to have the most energy-efficient fleet on the road. Included in Schneider’s fuel-efficiency approach are:

• A bonus payment every quarter for drivers who achieve fuel-efficiency goals;
• A full-time on-site team of engineers dedicated to equipment performance and efficiency;
• Outfitting all company trucks with no-idle heaters in 2003;
• A training program for drivers that focuses on fuel conservation through good driving habits;
• Reducing the speed of all drivers to 60 miles per hour, a move that has helped save 3.75 million gallons of fuel each year.

As a result of all its programs, Schneider has saved nearly 49 million gallons of fuel annually. That’s lowered annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 1.2 billion pounds, saved on emissions of 353 tons of particulate matter, and 10,226 tons of nitrogen oxide.   

Any discussion of trucking would be incomplete without considering the impact of Wal-Mart, which operates the third-largest private fleet of trucks in the country and is a major customer of other motor carriers. According to an article in the Jan. 5, 2010 Journal of Commerce, Wal-Mart plans to squeeze $4 billion to $12 billion from its supply-chain costs over the next five years. Bloomberg’s Business Week (May 27, 2010) reported that one way the giant retailer would do this is to take over the shipping of more of its products and pressure contractors to reduce costs. The company, for example, saved $200 million by packing and scheduling its U.S. truck fleet more efficiently. Another way the company reduces costs is by having Wal-Mart drivers and company contractors pick up products directly from manufacturers, rather than taking them to distribution centers and then shipping them to its 4,000 stores and warehouse clubs.          

Looking ahead
Looking at the future of Wisconsin’s trucking industry, Thomas Howells, president of the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association, sees trucking profits improving with general improvements in the economy. “In 2010, it was coming back, but not as fast as we’d like it,” he says.

“It’s been a shippers’ market,” he adds, noting the low freight rates. “It will be a truckers’ market in the near future,” he says, due, in part, to a shortage of about 200,000 drivers across the country. 

There are a lot of reasons for the shortage. More drivers will be needed as the economy improves and drivers are an aging demographic, so many will be retiring. Limiting speeds, while good for fuel efficiencies, also cuts into the number of miles a driver can cover.

Maintaining a strong trucking industry that runs efficiently and reduces emission figures to be a challenge not only for motor carriers, but for the overall performance of Wisconsin’s economy in a world of increasingly competitive national and international markets. 

 

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Local Company Finds Big Niche

During 20 years and more than 6,200 nights in the cab of his truck, Robert Jordan of Watertown used his inventive mind to come up with ways to reduce the idling time of his rig and save on diesel fuel.

Now retired from trucking, he’s the principal owner and chief technical officer of Idle Free Systems Inc., a privately held company with corporate headquarters in Madison that markets idle-elimination devices that run on energy stored in special batteries. And despite a down economy, the firm is finding a good market as truckers work to save on fuel costs and reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions.

Robert Hopton, president and CEO of the company, reports sales were up 200 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year, and that Idle Free has sold a total of more than 600 units. Idle Free’s systems, which power air conditioning, heaters, on-board televisions and microwaves, are now a recommended accessory for Mack trucks. In addition, Idle Free has reached an agreement with Idealease, one of the nation’s largest truck leasing companies, to begin selling the devices.

“We’re well positioned to be successful,” Hopton says. He bases his optimism on several things. The units, which sell for about $9,000, can eliminate $12,000 in annual fuel costs, the amount of diesel an average truck consumes while idling. “That means a payoff of a year or less,” he adds. In addition, idling is hard on diesel engines, so reducing idling time saves on engine life and maintenance and allows trucking fleets to keep their rigs longer.

Second, an improving economy means more sales of new trucks and more capital to spend on improving existing ones.

Third, only an estimated 20 percent of trucks have idle-elimination equipment, he says, meaning “it’s far from a mature market.”

Fourth, Idle Free’s battery-based system eliminates the cost of running the diesel-powered auxiliary power units that many trucks have. Such diesel units are banned in some of the 26 states that now have laws against excessive truck idling.

Finally, Idle Free offers a patent-pending unit that delivers 10,000 BTUs, more than twice as much power as the unit of its largest competitor. Since the systems use alternating current (AC), they can be plugged in to the increasing number of outlets being installed in the electric grid for trucks and plug-in hybrid cars.

Jordan used to make his living hauling cheese in a refrigerated truck and first invented an idle-elimination system that runs off a refrigeration unit’s power. Idle Free still is the only company to offer such a “reefer” based unit.

In 2007, the company introduced a battery-powered system that works on conventional over-the-road trucks.

Hopton, a graduate of the University of Chicago school of business with extensive experience at Kraft Foods, Spectrum Brands Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc. and CIGNA Corp., came on board to run the company in 2008.

The company now employs six workers at its manufacturing plant in Watertown and brings in a flex-force staff to meet orders. Another five employees are based in Madison.

“Our units make good economic sense and make all the sense in the world for the environment,” Hopton concludes.— JH

By John Hill

You can contact John Hill by e-mail at jhoythill@sbcglobal.net.

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