Energy
Fuel Economy

Big Rig Standard Could Save Biggest Trucking Fleets $1.7bn

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Big Rig Standard Could Save Biggest Trucking Fleets $1.7bn

FedEx, Walmart, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and UPS � five of the country�s biggest trucking fleets � could cut their fuel use by 500 million gallons a year under the new heavy duty truck fuel efficiency standard, saving $1.7 billion on fuel, according to a Union of Concerned Scientists study.

FedEx, Walmart, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and UPS — five of the country’s biggest trucking fleets — could cut their fuel use by 500 million gallons a year under the new heavy duty truck fuel efficiency standard, saving $1.7 billion on fuel, according to a Union of Concerned Scientists study.

The EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are expected to announce the standard this spring.

According to the study, Engines for Change, if today’s trucks met a 40 percent standard, oil use would be reduced by 9 billion gallons from shipping goods alone, saving truckers $30 billion in fuel costs and cutting more than 110 million tons of CO2 emissions.

Today’s heavy-duty trucks get around 6 miles to the gallon. The freight fleet uses 21 billion gallons of fuel a year.

The report says technology exists to make new trucks 40 percent more efficient compared to 2010 levels, in a cost-effective way.