TMC, NASHVILLE -- ATDynamics says North American fleets are on track to order 50,000 TrailerTail aerodynamic devices this year, and there’ll be 200,000 on the road by 2017.

More than 350 fleets have deployed the aerodynamic devices in the last three years, including numerous Top 100 for-hire and private fleets.

Lower pricing from higher manufacturing volume and new products introduced last year are accelerating the trend, along with greater awareness that the product works, said Andrew Smith, ATDynamics’ founder and CEO, during a Sunday press event at the Technology and Maintenance Council's annual meeting.

“Our flagship customers have confirmed tens of millions of dollars of fuel savings over the last three years, and the industry has taken notice,” he said.

“There are very few fleet managers familiar with vehicle aerodynamics and the state of the latest technology who are purchasing trailers in 2014 without aerodynamic equipment packages.”

Trailer Tails are used in three of the Department of Energy’s SuperTruck projects, he noted. The first one to be finished is the tractor-trailer developed by Cummins, Peterbilt Motors and Great Dane Trailers that the team said achieved 10.7 mpg on a highway recent test.

ATDynamics’ most recent product is the Auto Deploy system that unfolds a TrailerTail’s panels if the driver forgets to; it was introduced last November. Early last year, it introduced the Trident three-panel system that deletes the lower panels, allowing viewing of hazmat placards.

The company meanwhile has been selling packages of equipment to help fleets meet fuel-economy and emissions-reduction regulations, Smith said. These consist of a Trailer Tail and Trans Tex trailer skirts. Such packages will become more useful as tighter regs take effect later this decade.