Park it, drive slow, or let 'em know
So it has come to this.
News reports this morning speak of a strike being organized by truckers in the state of Florida to protest the recent crippling rise in U.S. diesel prices. The truckers- mostly owner-operators whose sole source of income is the operation of their truck- vow to park their rigs, drive at 45-mph on the highway, or simply display protest signs on their trailers, hoping to catch the attention of both the U.S. government, and big oil companies who supply the diesel fuel.
http://www.wesh.com/news/15756801/detail.html
For those who are still afloat, despite the $4-plus diesel prices, there are some temporary solutions out there.
Recenty, readers have posted some useful suggestions:
1) Drive the speed limit on the highway.
2) Accelerate more slowly.
3) Closely monitor tire pressure. Keep it high enough.
As I visit some of the larger fleets in the U.S., I see more technologies being adopted to help keep fuel economy high:
1) Filling truck tires with Nitrogen to prevent air loss or pressure loss- a costly, but apparently worthwhile solution.
2) Employment of various driver habit control systems (i.e. prevents idling, heavy acceleration, etc.)
3) More aerodynamics technology being added to the truck and trailer.
4) More efficient reefer units (refrigeration) being manufactured and purchased.
Despite all of these solutions that have become available, some are too difficult to implement, too expensive to adopt, and in all cases, none are effective in combating the rapid increase in diesel prices.
Technologies like International Fuel Technology's DiesoLIFT(TM) additives have value that increases as fuel prices rise. At $1 per gallon of diesel, the return on investment in DiesoLIFT(TM) would only be about 2 or 3 cents per gallon of diesel consumed. At a consumption volume of 1,000,000 gallons per year, it would stand to save you a net of about $20,000-30,000.
However, at a fuel price of $4 per gallon, DiesoLIFT(TM)'s net return would be about 17 to 18 cents per gallon of fuel consumed. Savings for a company consuming 1,000,000 gallons of diesel per year would be $170,000 to $180,000. For a company consuming 10 million gallons per year, the savings would be nearly $1.8 million annually.
DiesoLIFT(TM) products require no fixed up-front investment, and IFT continues to offer its Zero-Cost Pilot Program to large fleets with a central fuel source.
Contact Paul Lee at plee@internationalfuel.com for details on the technology and the opportunity to verify its effectiveness on-site with your fleet.
News reports this morning speak of a strike being organized by truckers in the state of Florida to protest the recent crippling rise in U.S. diesel prices. The truckers- mostly owner-operators whose sole source of income is the operation of their truck- vow to park their rigs, drive at 45-mph on the highway, or simply display protest signs on their trailers, hoping to catch the attention of both the U.S. government, and big oil companies who supply the diesel fuel.
http://www.wesh.com/news/15756801/detail.html
For those who are still afloat, despite the $4-plus diesel prices, there are some temporary solutions out there.
Recenty, readers have posted some useful suggestions:
1) Drive the speed limit on the highway.
2) Accelerate more slowly.
3) Closely monitor tire pressure. Keep it high enough.
As I visit some of the larger fleets in the U.S., I see more technologies being adopted to help keep fuel economy high:
1) Filling truck tires with Nitrogen to prevent air loss or pressure loss- a costly, but apparently worthwhile solution.
2) Employment of various driver habit control systems (i.e. prevents idling, heavy acceleration, etc.)
3) More aerodynamics technology being added to the truck and trailer.
4) More efficient reefer units (refrigeration) being manufactured and purchased.
Despite all of these solutions that have become available, some are too difficult to implement, too expensive to adopt, and in all cases, none are effective in combating the rapid increase in diesel prices.
Technologies like International Fuel Technology's DiesoLIFT(TM) additives have value that increases as fuel prices rise. At $1 per gallon of diesel, the return on investment in DiesoLIFT(TM) would only be about 2 or 3 cents per gallon of diesel consumed. At a consumption volume of 1,000,000 gallons per year, it would stand to save you a net of about $20,000-30,000.
However, at a fuel price of $4 per gallon, DiesoLIFT(TM)'s net return would be about 17 to 18 cents per gallon of fuel consumed. Savings for a company consuming 1,000,000 gallons of diesel per year would be $170,000 to $180,000. For a company consuming 10 million gallons per year, the savings would be nearly $1.8 million annually.
DiesoLIFT(TM) products require no fixed up-front investment, and IFT continues to offer its Zero-Cost Pilot Program to large fleets with a central fuel source.
Contact Paul Lee at plee@internationalfuel.com for details on the technology and the opportunity to verify its effectiveness on-site with your fleet.
