LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Wabco has announced it has verified that its Wabco IVTM tire pressure monitoring system has proven to significantly reduce the fuel costs for one US trucking giant.

Maverick USA, one of the largest North American truck fleets, has been running 1,000 Wabco IVTM tire pressure monitoring systems for a year now, and says it’s pleased with the results. The system, launched in 2003 with Michelin, tracks tire pressure in real-time, reducing roadside tire failures and improving fuel mileage, the company says.

“We are always striving to further reinforce our maintenance practices and benefit from innovative aftermarket technology, particularly in view of rapidly rising fuel prices,” said Mike Jeffress, vice-president of maintenance at Maverick USA. “Conversion of our fleet began in 2007 with a combination of Michelin X One wide-base tires and Wabco IVTM systems, and now we see positive results such as higher mileage-per-gallon, reduced tire damage, longer tire life, lower maintenance cost and less downtime. We will further convert our fleet to this proven program of improved tire inflation maintenance.”

Tires that are over- or under-inflated result in increased wear and poor fuel mileage. Wabco has developed an IVTM return-on-investment calculator to help fleets determine an approximate payback for the system.

The calculator can be accessed online at: www.wabco-auto.com/products_and_systems/roi_calculator.