Truckers Roll Out Sustainability Plan

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Trucking Associations rolled out a sustainability program Thursday aimed at scaling back fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The “Trucks Deliver a Cleaner Tomorrow” program offers six recommendations that will help the industry shrink its carbon footprint and preserve its livelihood during a time of skyrocketing fuel prices.

"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," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "Our proposals are practical, reasonable, and doable. They make environmental sense, and they make common sense."

In conjunction with the announcement, Schneider National Inc., which bills itsels as the country’s largest truckload carrier, signaled its intent to reduce its fleet speed to 60 miles per hour. Earlier this week, DTE Energy of Detroit said it would transition its fleet of 800 trucks and vehicles to biodiesel by mid-2008.

The group advises truckers to set speed governors on new trucks to 68 miles per hour or less. If speeds were lowered even further to 65 miles per hour, trucks could save 27 percent more fuel than on traveling at 75 miles per gallon, and some 31.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided.

ATA also suggests that truckers reduce their idling. For instance, the group says non-discretionary idling, such as when a truck is sitting in traffic, could be addressed through highway infrastructure improvements. Discretionary idling, such as when drivers use the engine for heat or air conditioning during rest breaks, can be reduced through technology, such as auxiliary power units.

A third recommendation involves joining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay program, which is a partnership with the freight industry. Through the program, partners muct create a three-year plan and monitor progress.

The group called for improving highway infrastructure to reduce traffic congestion through a 20-year program aimed at fixing serious bottlenecks. For instance, the nation’s top truck bottleneck is located in Long Beach near Interstates 405 and 605, which is responsible for more than 2.6 million hours of truck delay annually.

ATA says that trucks can be reconfigured in ways that were smarter and more productive. For instance, using a smaller number of large trucks, rather than a larger number of small trucks could reduce emissions by 294.7 million tons. ATA also suggests new fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that don’t compromise performance.

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