Articles and Reports
Click on one one of the topics listed to get tips and strategies from industry experts. This page aims to serve as a resource for various stakeholders with interest in the trucking industry, with the following content types provided by our staff.
- Tips and strategies from industry experts
- Examples of successful companies implementing strategies
- Studies and research
Staff will continue updating this page with additional content periodically.
Topics
- Aerodynamics
- Diesel Exhaust/Emissions
- Electrification
- Fuel Efficiency
- Idling
- Last Mile
- Supply Chain
- Telematics
Aerodynamics
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| Winging It Can Save Money and Emissions | Two products offer significant fuel savings and emissions reductions for trucks. TripDynamics captures such factors as weather, terrain, weight traffic and equipment; TruckWings' panels widen to reduce aerodynamic drag and provide from 4 to 6% in fuel savings. | 2/10/2021 |
Diesel Exhaust/Emissions
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| Hazard Alert-Diesel Exhaust/Diesel Particulate Matter | Diesel Particulate Matter is a major component of Diesel Exhaust containing hazardous soot particles. Short-term and prolonged exposure places nearby individuals at great risk of health effects. | 1/1/2013 |
| Study of Alternatives to reduce driver exposure to Diesel Exhaust | A study conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration investigated the effectiveness of idle reduction technologies in reducing driver exposure to diesel exhaust -- and to study the cost effectiveness of such technologies. The study findings indicated that the use of these technologies significantly produced reductions in PM2.5 emission levels in the truck cabin. | 6/29/2018 |
| Bolt-On SPIER System Improves Fuel Economy, Reduces Emissions and Maintenance | A new bolt-on device produces increased fuel efficiency and slashes NOx, along with other pollutants. Following a one-day installation, the device routes exhaust from the tailpipe of a diesel truck -- back to the engine, introducing the exhaust into the combustion chamber. | 4/21/2021 |
| Achates' Engine Brings Power, Lower Emissions | Achates Power has produced a two-stroke diesel engine designed with two crankshafts linking to two pistons facing each other. This type of engine more efficiently retains heat and reduces NOx as much as 90%. | 4/23/2021 |
| Bill to Reduce Carbon Emissions Targets Trucking Industry | A bill passed by the California Legislature and signed by the Governor aims to phase out diesel trucks and requires diesel emission reductions of 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. The bill also requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to formulate a market-based strategy by January 1, 2021 to bring the trucking industry into compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards. | 3/1/2021 |
| Tracking Transportation-Related Emissions Just Got Easier | Various transportation and logistics companies are implementing devices which track and measure benchmarks relating to emissions outputs and other metrics. These mechanisms are part of efforts to improve upon environmental sustainability practices. | 4/8/2021 |
| How Fleets Are Reducing Emissions in 2021 | Companies have made tremendous strides in reducing emissions from their vehicles in the past year. A couple strategies leveraged toward doing so include clean transportation initiatives and utilizing innovative programs to acquire newer and more efficient heavy-duty trucks. | 4/15/2021 |
| Salesforce Tool Expedites Direct and Indirect Emissions Accounting | Carbon counting can now be done in less required time. A software platform, Salesforce Sustainability Cloud, focuses on the energy and carbon impacts of commercial buildings, data centers, business travel and fleet vehicles. The process saves time and allows any company to use the software platform to track the energy use and emission output of their vehicles. | 4/20/2021 |
| EPA Provides Updates on Emissions Standards, SmartWay Activities | EPA looks at several ways of lowering emission standards. One of those includes updates to the EPA's Smartway program that looks at alternative fuels, trailer refrigeration units and modeling with computational fluid dynamics. EPA also wants to add new technologies for Smartway that include electric vehicles. | 4/19/2021 |
| Loadsmart Uses Optimization Tool to Reduce Customers' Carbon Footprint | Loadsmart is a digital freight technology tool that allows customers to choose from different transportation modes for their shipment in order to reduce their carbon footprint. Additionally, the tool provides cost effective ways for sustainable shipment modes. | 4/22/2021 |
| FreightWaves Carbon Intelligence: New Tools to Monitor Carbon Footprint | FreightWaves, a provider for data and analytics to freight and logistcs, announces their new plaform called FreightWaves Carbon Intellegence (FCI). The platform will give the user the ability to track their carbon footprint. The FCI platform tool can be very important to companies that need to adere to ESG requirements. | 4/22/2021 |
| Cummins, Tula Test Achieves Reduced Emissions | Cummins Inc. and Tula technology Inc. announced that Tula's technology, diesel Dynamic Skip Fire (dDSF) software is effective in reducing emmisions such as NO and CO2. Compared to other engine technologies, dDSF saved 20% in fuel proving that it 's more fuel efficient while reducing emissions. | 4/26/2021 |
Electrification
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| Reduce Maintenance Costs, Increase Uptime by Electrifying Your Fleet | This webinar -- hosted by ChargedFleet -- covered the following topics relating to fleet electrification: testing the waters with electric vehicles, sectors benefitting most from electrification and utilizing telematics to leverage valuable data. Viewers also gained insight into possible incentives and funding sources for purchasing EVs, increased understanding of infrastructure needs and available customization options. | 5/27/2021 |
Fuel Efficiency
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| Asset & Driver Strategies to Reduce Fuel Spend | Various strategies can reduce fuel consumptions and expenditure. Some are related to driver behavior, while others may include those such as purchasing hybrids, utilizing telematics, reducing idle time and maintaining tire pressure. | 3/29/2021 |
| How to Get Maximum Fuel Efficiency from Your Truck Engine and Transmission | Integrated powertrains can offer multiple advantages to fleets compared to a traditional manual and legacy automated transmission-based system. Whereas traditionally drivers can account for up to a 30% in a fleet's fuel economy, an integrated powertrain can drastically reduce that variation. | 4/12/2021 |
| MVTS Finds FlowBelow Technologies Bring Significant Fuel Savings | A test of FlowBelow Aero Inc's tractor and trailer wheel covers, as well as the Tractor AeroKit resulted in significant fuel savings. The FlowBelow tractor wheel covers showed a savings of 0.93%; the trailer wheel covers had a savings of 0.81%. | 4/13/2021 |
| How Can Trucks Reduce Fuel Consumption? | As making a switch to electric vehicles does not eliminate all emissions, there are many ways that carriers can go about limiting their emissions that won't cost an additional investment. They include: minimizing deadhead, monitoring tire pressure, managing and minimizing cruise speed, avoiding extra driving by planning daily tasks and maximizing trailer space. | 4/20/2021 |
| Samsara Releases Fuel Efficiency Benchmarks Report | Samsara released its Fuel Efficiency Benchmarks Report to assist fleets in evaluating how their vehicles are performing among key efficiency metrics, enabling fleets to implement significant changes to their fuel and fleet decisions. Customers can formulate and monitor efficiency goals by comparing vehicle fuel usage to anonymized benchmark data aggregated from Samsara's base of 20,000+ customers. | 4/23/2021 |
| The Latest Oil Technologies Keeping Fleets Efficient | Updating a truck's oil and lube regime can save money and keep trucks performing efficiently. Various sustainable solutions have been developed for this purpose. | 4/26/2021 |
Idling
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| A Review on Idling Reduction Strategies to Improve Fuel Economy and Reduce Exhaust Emission of Transport Vehicles | Strategies and actions must be implemented to minimize idling time by drivers. Benefits of such actions include savings in fuel usage and maintenance costs, extended vehicle life and reduction in exhaust emissions. | 9/28/2014 |
| Mission Critical Electronics, ZeroRPM Partner to Deliver Hybrid Power | A new technology converts conventional vehicles into cost-effective hybrid units by eliminating idling. This technology ensures continued power to all on-board equipment -- including HVAC systems -- while the vehicle engine is turned off. | 4/6/2021 |
| Trucking Keeps an Eye on Idling | Amidst the uptick in heavy-duty truck electrification, idling remains a prominent factor in diesel truck based emissions. Reducing idling can yield great amounts of savings in emissions, fuel and otherwise lost money. | 4/12/2021 |
Last Mile
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| Faster. Cheaper. Greener: Accenture's Plan for a Sustainable Last Mile | Various solutions for local delivery services have been proven to reduce emissions upon implementation. Microfulfillment Centers allow for a reduction in delivery vehicle volumes, yielding substantial and achievable reductions in emissions of CO2, NOx and PM10. Leveraging data can improve planning and routing in executing last mile deliveries. | 3/25/2021 |
Supply Chain
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| A Healthier Planet Depends on a Greener Supply Chain | As the climate crisis has continued, governments at various levels and companies have implemented measures to mitigate this dilemma. These include such actions as multi-state cooperative agreements to combat truck pollution, shared truckload, corporate sustainability goals, and utilization of carbon-neutral shipments. | 4/13/2021 |
Telematics
Title |
Summary |
Date |
| Connected Truck Telematics Systems Deliver Deeper Maintenance Insights | Telematics systems offer vast amounts of data types and status based information to others interested in fleet activity. Such categories may include fuel economy, location and maintenance alerts. | 4/22/2021 |