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SOLUTIONS * USA - 1· Big-Rig Hybrids
People usually do not associate the word "green" with diesel trucks, but big diesels are getting cleaner
New York,NY,USA -Forbes, by Deborah Orr -19 Mar 2008: -- ... All new heavy-duty diesel engines sold in the U.S. after 2007 must meet strict new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards that filter almost all the black soot particles and much of the nitrogen oxides that cause acid rain. The next set of standards, set to go into effect in 2010, will reduce nitrogen oxides even further... The dirty little secret of the cleaner diesel engines: they burn more fuel--a big problem for fleet operators facing a 44% rise in diesel fuel costs over the last year. Commercial vehicles--the main consumers of diesel fuel--can accumulate 75,000 miles in a year... Even a small decrease in fuel efficiency can make a big difference to truck operators' bottom lines... This is why heavy-duty truck manufacturers are now paying a lot of attention to diesel hybrids... A hybrid truck can deliver fuel savings of 5% to 60%, depending on how it is driven. For one type of hybrid technology, the EPA estimates the average urban delivery truck could save more than 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year... Hybrid power systems work best in vehicles that stop and start all the time, which means that they are ideal for delivery trucks, garbage trucks and school and city busses. For a long-haul vehicle, the savings would be significantly less... One way hybrids save energy is by using an electric motor, or even a pressurized hydraulic system, to boost the performance of the internal combustion engine when the vehicle is accelerating or under heavy load. The energy can be stored chemically (in a battery), electrically (in a capacitor) or mechanically (in a pressurized hydraulic system)... The Energy Policy Act of 2005 can provide federal tax credits of up to $12,000 per unit for diesel hybrid purchases... That may not be quite enough to offset an initial 35% premium over conventional vehicles, but with diesel averaging $3.88 a gallon nationwide, fleet operators will be weighing their options: pay more up front at the dealer or pay more at the pump for years to come...
* 2 · Now more than ever truckers must know their operating costs to survive
Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Clarissa Kell-Holland -March 19, 2008: -- As diesel fuel prices continue to rise, many owner-operators are desperate to find ways to cut costs to make up for dramatic increases in fuel costs and low freight rates... During the past week, almost 65 percent of truckers who responded to Land Line’s Web poll indicated they have paid $4 per gallon for diesel... OOIDA member Ken Simmons of Discount Trucking Inc., in Crosby, TX, has these words of advice for owner-operators who are struggling to stay afloat right now: “Make sure you know what your cost of doing business is before you accept a load.” ... He said marketing is also key for owner-operators to make sure potential customers know about their trucking business... Another crucial factor for owner-operators struggling to make money right now is checking credit on brokers before they take a load to make sure they will get paid for their loads... OOIDA member Joseph Frazier of Satsuma, AL, has made two important business decisions in order to survive the high fuel costs and low freight rates: He’s saying no to cheap freight, and he’s slowing down... Right now, Frazier said his Freightliner is getting about 7 miles to the gallon just by keeping the speedometer at 63 or 64 miles per hour.
He is leased to Fikes Truck Lines, which is 100 percent owner-operators. Frazier said he gets 100 percent of the fuel surcharge, which helps him out. Fikes bases the surcharge on 5.5 mpg, so he is able to keep the difference as profit... Frazier, said he knows what his bottom-line freight rate has to be to run, which he said is right around $1.65 now... Frazier said it’s also important to lease on to a company that has only owner-operators because many companies that have company trucks will take care of their company drivers first... “If you lease on to a company that has 700 company trucks and 200 owner-operators, guess who they are going to take care of first. Then they are going to turn around and give you the freight they want you to haul,” he said... Labels: hybrids trucks
posted by Unknown @ 10:31 AM
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