NACFE updates organizational strategy, publishes Run on Less

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Updated Mar 5, 2018

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) announced an expanded organizational strategy, including an updated brand identity and website, during a press conference Sunday at the ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

“With ‘NACFE 2.0’, we believe we can add a great deal of value in guiding the development and eventual implementation of future technologies,” says Mike Roeth, NACFE executive director.

“Nowhere is clarity needed more than in the emerging trucking technology space. NACFE’s demonstrated approach to determining the viability of an existing technology can be leveraged to evaluate emerging ones and sift through the noise to give fleets an objective view of the benefits and challenges of these disruptive technologies,” adds NACFE board member John Nelligan, vice president of global sales and service at Meritor.

In addressing future change and technology, Roeth says NACFE will introduce Guidance Reports, which will be similar to its popular Confidence Reports and attempt to provide detailed research on the potential and likely performance of future efficient technology. He says the first Guidance Report on electric trucks is in development and should be released later this spring.

NACFE also has upgraded its website, making all of its reports and research materials available on one site. This includes highlighted findings from the Run on Less roadshow so users can access the data and 41 videos generated during the three-week fuel-efficiency roadshow.

“We are excited to be moving into this next phase of our progress,” says Roeth. “We will continue to update Confidence Reports on existing technologies and complete several on technologies we have not yet studied. In addition to providing guidance on electric trucks, we plan to study other topics such as autonomous trucks, vehicle connectivity, mode-shifts and freight-matching.”

During Sunday’s press conference Roeth also released an in-depth report on its Run on Less efficiency roadshow. In producing the report, Roeth says four key conclusions were established:

  • 10 mpg does happen in the real world
  • Conditions matter and need to be understood for decision making
  • High mpg requires efforts in many areas
  • Telematics reports and data-logging are worthwhile investments

“Run on Less demonstrated that 10.1 mpg is possible in real-world applications. The results are now detailed, and I challenge fleets to take advantage of available fuel-saving technologies, manufacturers to continue to ramp up their efforts in developing fuel-efficient products and other industry stakeholders to support them in the work of raising the average fuel economy of all fleets,” says Roeth.

Additionally, the research team found several key actions being used by the fleets during the Run on Less event that positively impacted fuel their efficiency, such as high-impact technologies, driver behavior and vehicle configuration.

Ultimately, NACFE says the seven trucks involved in the event saved 2,877 gallons of fuel and $7,193 against the national average of 6.4 mpg. Complete results can be found at Run on Less.

Roeth says a second Run on Less has been proposed but not yet confirmed.