Trucking Efficiency released its second Confidence Report in less than a month on Tuesday in publishing a report on lightweighting.
The report, produced by the North American Council For Freight Efficiency and Carbon War Room, explores the benefits and challenges of lightweighting for Class 8 tractors and trailers. While the majority of bulk carriers have already invested in the lightweighting technologies that meet their upfront cost tolerances, Trucking Efficiency says current trends in the industry may make it worthwhile for greater numbers of reefer and dry van routes to invest in lightweighting. This is especially true if lightweighting is looked at not just based on fuel efficiency but also based on freight efficiency—moving the most tons of freight for least total gallons of fuel, Trucking Efficiency has determined.
“The value of lightweighting differs depending on different market segments. However, when lightweighting is looked at not only in terms of better fuel economy but also with a growing need for freight efficiency, it makes sense in a wider variety of situations,” says says Mike Roeth, operations lead at Trucking Efficiency.
The report covers available lightweighting technologies across different cost ranges, and estimates the amount of weight that can be saved when using each of these technologies, Trucking Efficiency says. The report also contains a Confidence Matrix that expresses the study team’s confidence in lightweighting across all categories of fleets from dry van units to refrigerator units to bulk carriers.
For more information from this and other Confidence Reports, please go to www.truckingefficiency.org.
