Heavy Duty Trucking, June 2018
a good economy has shifted into overdrive over the past 18 months the OPEC oil cartel has opted to keep production low as a way of driving up prices That and seasonal increases in demand as summer driving ramps up has market analysts predicting 3 a gallon averages for fuel nationally And that was before President Trump elected to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty last month a move many analysts fear will send prices soaring If a full scale war should erupt in the Middle East there is no telling where pump prices might eventually land If youve been coasting on reasonable fuel prices for a few years theres no better time to refocus on fleet fuel economy Luckily even as fuel prices fell to normal levels after the worst of the Great Recession a culture of fuel economy had taken root among major carriers across North America Many of these fleet managers realized that even in times of cheap diesel fuelefficient trucks made outstanding business sense With fuel routinely ranking as a top operating cost for fleets common sense dictates that every penny not spent on fuel can drop straight to the bottom line Whether youre just starting to refocus on fuel economy or want to improve what youre doing top fuel saving fleets we spoke with suggest these three tried and true ways to improve your fuel efficiency 1 Dead bugs and dirt Understanding aerodynamics Nothing has transformed the ability of on highway Class 8 tractors to get better fuel economy more than the use of aerodynamics to sculpt and guide the flow of air around the truck and trailer in order to cut through n 2007 fuel prices across North America skyrocketed with alarming speed thanks to massive instability in the Middle East and the advent of the Great Recession Razor thin profit margins shattered and many cash poor fleets went under almost right away Over time the situation both at home and abroad stabilized Eventually boosted by relative peace and prosperity and new fracking technology that allowed access to crude oil trapped in shale rock diesel prices settled back down to around 2 a gallon a price point that at the height of the recession many never thought theyd see again Still experts cautioned fuel prices remained notoriously volatile They would climb again one day It was simply a matter of time It appears that one day may be here As HDT JUNE 2018 40 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM I With fuel prices on the rise theres no better time to refocus on fuel economy Here are three things that nearly any fleet can focus on to drive up fuel savings fast By Jack Roberts Senior Editor jroberts@ truckinginfo com PROVEN FUEL STRA
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