Almost everyday I hear news about oil prices increasing to record levels. As of this writing, the price of diesel at the TCA truckstop in Hampshire, Ill., located on I-90 northwest of Chicago, was $4.019 at retail. If you happen to be in the state of New York, the retail cost at some truckstops is $4.20 per gallon.
If a driver pumps 200 gallons of fuel into his tank, he or she will pump over $800 into the cash register. Even with negotiated fuel prices, the dollars allocated to fuel are extremely high.
This is an industry where even a tenth of a percent increase in fuel adds up to large dollar amounts at the end of the day.
Con-way Freight analyzed the numbers and came to the conclusion that they needed to adjust some small numbers to obtain very large savings. In a recent press release, Con-way Freight announced that it was going to turn back vehicle speed governors from 65 MPH to 62 MPH. At first glance a 3 MPH reduction in road speed doesn’t seem like much of a change and therefore doesn’t seem like it would produce an effective fuel cost savings. But, if you multiply the fuel savings by 8,400 tractors, the numbers now become significant. According to Con-way, it will save an estimated 3.2 million gallons of fuel annually –– at $4.00 per gallon that’s $12.8 million.
Of course, not every fleet operates the number of tractors Con-way does, but the percentage of savings would remain the same if you only had 100 tractors. We all know that the less fuel burned by engines is directly related to maintenance dollars that are spent on the engine and possibly other drivetrain components.
The immediate benefit for Con-way is to save fuel dollars. But there is another saving from which we will all benefit. The reduction of carbon emissions by its fleet is estimated to be 72 million lbs. Con-way equates the savings to the “removal of 7,300 automobiles from America’s highways.”
Speed governor settings are only one part of Con-way’s program to reduce emissions and save on fuel. The fleet is also implementing procedures and specifications in the areas of aerodynamics, engine and drivetrain specs, lubrication and anti-idling initiatives.
These are not new ideas, but with the increased cost of fuel and the importance of reducing carbon emissions, they now become critical areas of concern rather than just a good thing to do.
So what can we take away from Con-way’s efforts? Perhaps when it comes to MPH, fleets should think small to receive big benefits.
Bob Dorn
Publisher
