SmartWay Enhances Program to Emphasize Value of Trailer Add-ons

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — SmartWay, the decade-old partnership between the trucking industry and the Environmental Protection Agency that aims to reduce fuel consumption, has announced changes and enhancements to its trailer-verification program.

SmartWay evaluates the fuel-saving effectiveness of equipment used in trucking, such as aerodynamic devices on trailers, and recommends the best for use.

As of this week, the program features a new trailer category that SmartWay is calling “elite,” meaning a trailer that a carrier outfits with several SmartWay-certified aerodynamic devices is going to get the highest possible fuel savings.

SmartWay program leaders announced the new fuel savings category at the Technology & Maintenance Council’s annual meeting here this week.

The combination of aerodynamic devices allowed a trailer to gain a total of 10% or more fuel savings over a trailer without the same combination or brand of devices, EPA said on its website.

“At least 9% of these fuel savings will come from a SmartWay Elite aerodynamic combination [a combination of two or more aerodynamic devices verified by EPA], and an additional 1% or more in savings is achieved through low-rolling-tires.”

The EPA-designated “SmartWay Elite” trailers are 53-foot box dry van or refrigerated trailers that have the combination of SmartWay-verified low-rolling-resistance tires and SmartWay-verified aerodynamic device.

“A typical tractor using a SmartWay Elite trailer . . . could save about 1,700 gallons of diesel annually,” SmartWay said on its website.