We’ve all heard the expression “It takes a village to raise a child.” I am not sure that quite applies to what we do at Trucking Efficiency, but I do know that we could not have accomplished as much as we have without the help and support of a lot of people.
It seems appropriate in this week following Thanksgiving to reflect on the generosity of people in the trucking industry.
One of the things we discovered early in our work through our 2013 Barriers to adoption of Fuel Efficiency Technologies was that fleets felt there was a lack of credible, trustworthy information that would allow them to make decisions about purchasing new technology to improve fuel economy.
We set about trying to fix that problem and in a number of areas — 6x2 axles, lightweighting, downspeeding, electronically controlled transmissions, electronic engine parameters, tire pressure monitoring, idle reduction — we have done just that.
But we did not do it alone. We would not have been successful if manufacturers, suppliers and early adopter fleets had not been willing to share information and their experiences with us. Often times this was information they had not shared previously with anyone else and was the result of extensive and often expensive testing and research. Yet when we asked, they willingly handed over research, test results and other data. We need more though and please contact me if you have this information to share on such fuel savings technologies.
The thing I am most grateful about is that this sharing was done because these OEMs, suppliers and fleets want the entire industry to benefit from improved freight efficiency. They understand the big picture of how trucking fits into the general economy and how it is perceived by the general public. They understand that by improving freight efficiency for all fleets will help the economy and raise trucking’s status in the eyes of the non-trucking public.
Our work is not done. We are in the process of completing Confidence Reports on tractor aerodynamics, trailer aerodynamics and lubricants. We welcome your help and input with these reports. We have additional reports planned for next year, and I know I can continue to count on our industry to step up and help us continue to be an unbiased source of real world information that allows fleets to make smart purchasing decisions that reduce fuel use.
And for that I am grateful both today and tomorrow. Contact me directly on how you might join our efforts including sponsorships for 2016.
