Kenworth Truck Co has launched a fuel economy awareness program to assist fleets and owner-operators interested in improving fuel efficiency. The company has produced a White Paper on Fuel Economy and created a “Dynamics of Fuel Efficiency” web site link at www.kenworth.com. This 14-page white paper may be downloaded from this link.
The white paper explores six areas: aerodynamics, component specifying, advanced technology, route management, driver behavior, and proper maintenance. The component spec'ing section offers a tire tips section, courtesy of Bridgestone.
Savings per truck can be significant. For example, a truck that travels 100,000 miles annually and gets 6½ miles per gallon uses 15,385 gallons of fuel. That costs $23,077, assuming an average cost of $1.50 per gallon. An increase to 7 miles per gallon cuts annual usage to 14,285 gallons and reduces the cost to $21,428. That's a savings of nearly $1,649, or just over 7%. A fleet running 100 trucks would save nearly $165,000 in just one year and almost $500,000 over three years.