Logistics/fleet management
Logistics/fleet management
Improving fleet fuel efficiency
A number of factors impact the fuel efficiency of our regional fleets. These factors include local driving, climate, and travel conditions, speed and driver behavior, type of equipment used and idling times.
Some of the means by which our operations deliver on the Company's service promise while improving our fleets' fuel efficiency include:
- Reducing idling
- Training drivers to drive for fuel efficiency
- Using appropriately sized and equipped vehicles that match the volume and weight of the loads to be delivered
- Equipping tractors and trailers with aerodynamic devices (e.g. cab roof fairings, trailer side skirts, trailer fairings)
- Shipping loads in a manner that maximizes the space available in the trailers, or "cube utilization"
- Purchasing trucks equipped with engines that are most appropriate for local driving conditions
- Purchasing trailers with additional insulation to reduce the power demands on the refrigeration system
- Installing speed limiters on the majority of company-owned and third-party fleet service providers' vehicles across the country
- Using low resistance tires
- Using fleet management systems that monitor driver practices and equipment performance
- Gathering information about individual drivers, trucks and trailers to identify system-wide performance improvement opportunities
We are continuously looking for ways to improve our fuel conservation practices. For example, we are evaluating the benefits of using natural gas to fuel our tractors, and the use of hybrid diesel/electric trailer refrigeration units – a technology that allows refrigerated trailers to remain at below 0°C temperature while switching from diesel to electric power during loading and unloading.
Read the following for details on the region-specific initiatives that have been implemented in the past year, and their resulting impact.
- Regional fleet travel reduction and fuel efficiency initiatives
