ARLINGTON, Va. — Increasing maximum operating weight and length of over-the-road trucks could decrease congestion, save fuel and reduce pollution, according to research released this week by Cummins and the American Transportation Research Institute — the research arm of the American Trucking Associations.

The research used computer modeling that reflects the operation of trucks at various weight classes with engines meeting current U.S. EPA engine emissions standards. The updated research confirms potential fuel efficiency improvements that can be achieved through the operation of higher productivity vehicles. These efficiency improvements also yield environmental improvements.

“With engine manufacturers striving to make cleaner, more efficient engines, this study highlights how efficiencies can also be gained through operational changes,” said Tim Solso, Cummins Chairman and CEO and a member of the ATRI Board of Directors.

The research analyzed six different vehicle configurations: five-axle tractor-semitrailer, double, six-axle tractor-semitrailer, Rocky Mountain double, triple trailer combination and turnpike doubles.

In addition to investigating the operation of higher productivity vehicles at gross vehicle weights greater than the current federal limit, the updated study also investigated the operation of longer combination vehicles hauling low-density freight. For nearly every vehicle configuration studied, operating at higher weights allowed freight payloads to be increased at a greater rate than the additional fuel required to move the heavier load.

LCVs have been running in Canadian provinces
under various pilot projects.

“As we look for ways to reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing the supply chain efficiencies that the trucking industry supports, higher productivity vehicles should be considered as a viable part of an overarching solution,” said Douglas G. Duncan, president and CEO of FedEx Freight and Chairman of the ATRI Board of Directors.

In Canada, several provinces are conducting LCV pilot projects. In B.C. last year between Burnaby and Kamloops LCVs were being monitored to gauge the vehicles’ impact on provincial roads.

The LCVs in the Western provinces take the form Rocky Mountain doubles — a truck tractor and semi-trailer combination that is six metres longer than standard vehicle combinations (traditionally a 48-ft trailer coupled with a smaller 28-ft unit) of this type.

Ontario and the Maritimes are two of the jurisdictions that would benefit most from a turnpike double network in Canada, according to a study commissioned by the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) in co-operation with Natural Resources Canada, Transport Canada, and the Canada Safety Council, among others.

A one-page summary of the report is available on the ATRI website, www.atri-online.org. Hard copies of the full report can be ordered through the website as well.