Why is it that some fleets only become concerned about fuel economy when fuel prices are high?
That seems short sighted to me. Regardless of the cost, fuel represents a significant operational cost for every fleet. It's also a cost that can be managed.
The good news is that when it comes to improving fuel economy there are a variety of paths to success. Regardless of duty cycle, fleets have a host of options to choose from when trying to improve their fuel efficiency. For one fleet that answer might be adding chassis skirts. For another it might be the addition of tire pressure monitoring systems. For a third it might be switching to aluminum wheels.
Royal Jones, president and CEO of Mesilla Valley Transportation, suggests fleets explore fuel saving devices to see what works in their operation. “You have the ability to lower [the cost of fuel you consume] not by going to the customer and charging more, not by paying your drivers less, not by buying a cheaper truck, but just by taking away operating costs.”
His advice seems pretty straightforward.
[Related: Rising diesel cost puts fuel economy back in focus]
Importantly, the time to start working to lower fuel costs is now because it takes time to implement new technology. The sooner you begin determining what works for your specific application the sooner you can start reducing fuel costs.
