Fort Dodge Messenger, IA
03/07/06
Idling rigs costing money
Local trucking companies feel pressure to reduce idling
By KELLI BLOOMQUIST, Messenger Staff Writer, and The Associated Press
Many ask the question silently as they pass rows of idling trucks in highway rest
areas or truck stops: ‘‘Why is the engine running?’’
The question is now being asked out loud by regulators and trucking companies.
Idling rigs burn more than 1 billion gallons of diesel a year, according to
estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They spew more than
11 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 180,000 tons of nitrogen oxide
emissions and 5,000 tons of particulate pollutants annually.
Air quality and noise concerns have prompted at least 18 states and many local
governments to regulate idling.
Idling regulations are few in Iowa, where air pollution has not reached the critical
point and trucking companies are an important, influential and growing part of the
economy.
But even here, idling is becoming a front-burner issue. Sky-high diesel prices and
new federal regulations requiring drivers to obtain regular rest, combined with the
idling issue, are leaving a bigger dent in trucking company profits.
‘‘It is not necessarily an air quality issue for us in Iowa as much as it is an
economic issue,’’ said Dennis Kroeger, transportation research specialist at
Iowa State University’s Center for Transportation Excellence.
Efforts to reduce idling ‘‘will help keep the bottom line healthy at trucking
companies, and there are a lot of them in Iowa,’’ Kroeger said.
Anti-idling strategies vary widely among companies.
Smithway Motor Xpress, of Fort Dodge, is in the process of installing fuel fire
bunk heaters this year. According to Chad Johnson, vice president of vehicle
operations, the heaters are a short-term solution to keeping drivers warm in the
winter weather while still allowing drivers to power down the trucks to reduce on
emissions.
‘‘It is critical for us to reduce our idle time,’’ said Larry Owens, CEO of Smithway
Motor Xpress. ‘‘We are making sure that our drivers are comfortable but also
working on reducing emissions and our overall idle time. The heaters should help
quite a bit with this.’’
Decker Truck Line Inc., of Fort Dodge, is also keeping an eye on drivers’ idle
time.
‘‘We are watching idle time very closely,’’ said Decker special projects manager
Steve Larson. ‘‘We also have a bonus program in which drivers with the lowest
idle time are paid a bonus. This is helping us to save on fuel and on emissions.’’
According to Larson, Decker is also installing fuel fire bunk heaters.
‘‘We are actively installing these heaters in our fleet,’’ said Larson. ‘‘I would say
one-third of the fleet has the heaters and that number continues to increase
daily.’’
For trucking companies that typically do not travel long distances over a period of
days, such as Lakeville Motor Express, which has a terminal in Fort Dodge, idle
time doesn’t play as significant of a role.
‘‘Our guys don’t go over the road,’’ said terminal manager Jim Wengryn. ‘‘They
leave in the morning, make their delivery and are home at night. Idle time isn’t as
big of an issue for us. But with the cost of fuel, we are very cognizant of idle time
and actually plug in to keep warm while in the terminal instead of idling.
“We have installed new electrical outlets throughout the building to make sure
that we are not running our trucks constantly in the winter time. But for us, it is
more a matter of training and awareness so that we can conserve as best we
can.’’
Conservation is they key. Decker has reduced its idle time from 30 percent to 25
percent in the last year, Larson said.
Smithway Motor Xpress is also working to reduce its total idle time down from 40
percent.
Developing strategies to reduce idling isn’t easy, because turning off a rig’s
engine can affect the driver’s comfort. Competition from good drivers is intense.
Some truckers travel with dogs for company and keep engines idling so they
don’t overheat during their rest breaks.
Idling engines also keep the truck’s battery charged. Truckers use power
inverters to run microwave ovens, televisions and portable computers off the
truck’s electrical system during long weeks on the road.
Some travel centers, such as Pilot Travel Centers, are proactively working with
truckers. Pilot Travel Centers plans to offer 72 IdleAire truck parking stalls at the
company’s Urbandale location. IdleAire systems provide cable TV, telephone,
Internet service, electricity, heat and air conditioning via units that mount in a cab
window.
These systems have obvious attraction when they are available, according to
ISU experts. They cost about $1.50 per hour to operate basic service versus the
$3-per-hour cost of idling a truck. However, they don’t allow truckers to stop
wherever they run out of driving hours, which many see as critical.
‘‘The holy grail would be to equip trucks with an APU powered by a (hydrogen)
fuel cell which is a nonpolluting power source,’’ said Randy Boeckenstedt, a
transportation research specialist at ISU.
Trucking executives want APUs to prove their worth before they commit $8,000
each to equip trucks.
‘‘We have a number of trucks with APUs,’’ said Larson. ‘‘But there are weight,
maintenance and cost issues involved with that.’’
While trucking firms throughout the country look at ways to reduce idle time,
many report that it isn’t yet a serious problem, but that many states are beginning
to institute legal parameters for truckers to follow.
‘‘I know in California by January of 2008 they are planning to outlaw idling all
together,’’ said Johnson. ‘‘They are trying to restrict idle time to no more than five
minutes. Typically, though laws like this are being instituted by bigger cities like
Chicago, Minneapolis, etc. It isn’t a bad idea, and it is helping us to keep our
costs down as well.’’