ATRI Picks Teams to Evaluate Idle Reduction on Trucks

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) Monday announced the selection of three project teams to demonstrate and evaluate mobile idle reduction technologies on heavy-duty trucks.

The use of these technologies should allow truck drivers to rest in comfort while the truck’s engine is shut off. The demonstration is being funded as part of a grant program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership to help promote technologies that save fuel while also reducing pollution.
The year-long data collection effort will document engine idle times with and without the use of the selected idle reduction technologies.
The following trucking companies will lead the selected project teams:
• Diversified Transfer and Storage (DTS) – Headquartered in Billings, Mont., DTS provides truckload and less-than-truckload services throughout the United States. DTS will be evaluating an auxiliary power unit (APU) manufactured by RigMaster Power Corp.
• National Freight Inc. (NFI) – Headquartered in Vineland, N.J., NFI provides nationwide truckload, over-the-road, dedicated, intermodal, brokerage, and specialized transportation services. NFI will be evaluating an APU manufactured by Teleflex Energy Systems.
• Schneider National Inc. – Headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., Schneider National provides nationwide truckload services, including one-way, intermodal, dedicated, bulk and specialized service. Schneider National will be evaluating two separate air-conditioning systems, a Bergstrom 12-volt system and a Webasto thermal storage system, operated in conjunction with a Webasto cab heater.
The successful demonstration and evaluation of these idle reduction technologies is expected to provide truck owners with a better understanding of the costs and benefits associated with the use of these technologies.
ATRI is the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.