We are getting close to the official kick off of Run on Less Regional. On Monday, Oct. 7, all 10 fleets participating in the Run will begin covering them delivering real freight over a variety of regional routes.
There are several reasons I think you should not only care about the Run, but also follow as it unfolds over the three weeks throughout this month.
- Learn more about regional haul: Nearly every day we will be posting new videos to the Run on Less Regional website. These videos will cover a variety of issues that are important in regional haul applications including: why we believe regional haul is a growing segment of the trucking industry, insights into what drivers like about regional haul, maintenance benefits of regional haul, and aerodynamics on day cabs. This is just a small sampling of the daily stories we will be posting.
- Learn about the efficiency of regional haul: You will be able to explore the technologies in which the various fleets have invested as they work to make the trucks used to haul in the shorter mileage that defines regional haul. For the purposes of the Run, NACFE is defining regional haul as trucks operating within a 300-mile radius of their home base.
- Get a peek at what might be coming in the future: We are hosting three technology days during the Run. One will focus on hydrogen and fuel cells as power sources for vehicles used in regional haul. One will focus on the value connectivity brings to the regional haul market. The third will look at how electric vehicles may be a perfect fit for early adoption by fleets in regional haul.
Before, during and after the Run we want you to think about actions that can be taken to improve the overall efficiency of regional haul. Perhaps manufacturers can focus on how they can modify their products to make them better suited for these shorter haul applications. We hope fleets will be able to take what they learned from observing the 10 fleets in the Run and make changes to their vehicle specs and operational practices to save fuel. As for others tied to trucking, regulators, funders and those of you in communities affected by trucking, we hope you will learn from these insights and understand this segment more deeply.
I encourage you to click over to Run on Less as you sip your morning coffee, enjoy lunch or anytime during the day, but don’t miss a day from Oct. 7 – 27. I guarantee that in addition to finding updated statistics on how the fleets are doing, you’ll also find rich content that will prove to be food for thought on how we all can work toward achieving better fuel and freight efficiency in the regional haul sector. After all, regional haul now makes up nearly 50% of all trucking.
See you at the coffee pot, or wherever you check out the Run.
