Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The BulletTruck

Aerodynamic
big-rig prototype cuts fuel consumption to pickup truck levels.Yes, semis can be green. The tractor-trailers that carry the bulk of the
nation’s freight are not exiting the highways any time soon, and with average
fuel economy of about six miles per gallon, there is room for improvement. Even
at those numbers, a fully loaded big rig hauling up to 36 tons is way more
efficient than carrying the equivalent load in a caravan of pickup trucks.

Last year, Peterbilt and Cummins introduced a ‘SuperTruck,’ which reached 9.9
mpg, and could potentially save $25,000 in diesel costs over 120,000 miles. But
the Airflow Truck Company’s ‘BulletTruck’ prototype raised that number to 13.4 mpg, barely behind that of full-size luxury
cars or pickup trucks, according to the website Green Car Reports. And
the BulletTruck did so with a payload matching that of the SuperTruck, around
65,000 lbs. This was no dry run, either – it was a revenue-producing,
freight-hauling cross-country trip from Connecticut to California.

When you look at the truck, it isn't hard to see where most of the gains come
from: aerodynamics. Along with covered wheels, the BulletTruck adds an
extended, faired-in nose cone and smoother sides, letting air hug the body
contours rather than thrashing around in turbulence. At the very rear of the
trailer unit, a retractable, tapered end section lets airflow leave as cleanly
as it arrived, reducing aerodynamic drag. When the average truck uses 50
percent of its fuel just to push air out of the way, it's no surprise the
BulletTruck is capable of cutting fuel use that much.

Industry-wide, AirFlow says a fleet of BulletTrucks could save 7.5 billion
gallons of fuel, plus 21 million tons of toxic exhaust emissions, annually. Of
course, before this green revolution sweeps the trucking industry, a lot of
green will have to go to buy the more efficient vehicles. But in the long haul,
the BulletTruck and its kin could help shippers squeeze costs from their supply
chains, increasing profitability, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and
help leave us with a more habitable planet.

About TOTALogistix

TOTALogistix is a privately held corporation headquartered in Sparta, NJ. We helped define the Third Party Logistics Industry in 1991. Today we provide a wide spectrum of transportation and related supply chain management services to manufacturers, retailers and distributors throughout North America.
In our 20+ years in business, we’ve saved money for nine out of ten companies whose transportation we’ve analyzed. We’re confident we can do the same for you. Improving logistics performance starts here.