Recently, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) announced the launch of an industry program designed to reduce fuel consumption and cut CO2 emissions that includes the recommendation that fleets participate in the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership. In launching the program, ATA president and CEO Bill Graves said, “ATA has committed itself to a series of measures that can reduce fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and CO2 emissions by 900 million tons for all vehicles over the next 10 years. Our proposals are practical, reasonable and doable. They make environmental sense, and they make common sense.”

With thin profit margins and high fuel costs, increasing fuel efficiency and minimizing fuel consumption are certainly major goals of any trucking company.

The following steps in the ATA program –– some of which need to be done by regulators, others by trucking companies –– can go a long way toward accomplishing these goals. 

1. Enact a national 65 MPH speed limit for all vehicles, and govern new trucks at no more than 68 MPH. A truck traveling at 75 MPH consumes 27% more fuel than one going at 65 MPH. Bringing speed limits for trucks down to 65 MPH would save 2.8 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 10 years and reduce CO2 emissions by 31.5 million tons –– equal to a year’s CO2 generated by nine million Americans.
2. Seek federal support for a nationwide solution that will reduce non-discretionary idling through highway infrastructure improvements and discretionary idling through financial incentives for technology improvements. Idling in congested traffic or running the engine to keep the driver warm or cool while resting annually consumes an estimated 1.1 billion gallons of diesel fuel. Re-ducing so-called discretionary idling (for truck cab heating and cooling) can be targeted with new technologies that reduce fuel consumption.
3. Encourage fuel efficiency improvement through participation by both carriers and shippers in the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership. Fuel efficiency improvement hinges on reducing the amount of fuel consumed by an entire truck fleet relative to the amount of cargo moved over a given distance. To qualify for participation in the program, trucking companies must develop three-year plans to reduce fuel use and greenhouse-gas emissions. Over the next nine years, CO2 reductions are estimated at 119 million tons, equal to a year’s output from everyone in the state of Illinois.
4. Advocate for improved highway infrastructure aimed at reducing congestion. Such improvements could be paid for with a dedicated fuels tax. This, of course, is a long range challenge. ATA recommends a 20-year program. The initial focus would be on fixing critical bottlenecks, followed by a program to increase traffic flow in critical freight corridors.  

EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership documents state that only the most progressive and committed carriers earn the privilege of labeling their vehicles with the SmartWay brand — setting them ahead of the pack and delivering a competitive advantage.

In addition, SmartWay financing tools are available to make the SmartWay tractor and trailer accessible even to the smallest carriers. 

For more information about the program and SmartWay certification, visit www.epa.gov/

smartway/transport.