THE CASE FOR FAIRING USE

In addition to California now mandating that trailers be Smartway compliant, there are three important factors which are compelling the trucking industry to adopt the use of fairings:
1) the high cost of fuel;
2) the fact that fairings reduce aerodynamic drag of trailers resulting in fuel savings;
3) the opportunity to exercise good corporate responsibility by contributing to the reduction of harmful emissions in our environment

High Cost of Fuel

The high cost of diesel fuel incurred by the trucking industry today is a direct result of the growth of the global economy and the industrialization of developing countries in the world which have increased the demand for oil. World oil consumption is at such a high level, and continuing to increase, that production interruptions around the world due to acts of terrorism, ongoing hostilities in the Mid East, production interruptions due to weather and other factors, and concern over the decline in world oil reserves are causing prices to fluctuate wildly and move to higher levels.

High world oil prices have resulted in sharply increasing diesel fuel prices in the United States in recent years and were dramatically felt in 2008 when prices topped the $5 mark. The likelihood of these prices remaining at current or even higher levels going forward appears to be a reasonable expectation.

Fairing Use Results in Fuel Savings

Use of fairings on highway trailers reduces aerodynamic drag and saves fuel by reducing the horsepower required to move the tractor trailer on the highway. There are two factors that affect horsepower requirements for a tractor trailer. The first is rolling friction and the other is aerodynamic drag. As can be seen in the following chart, at 55 mph both factors require about an equal amount of horsepower. However, as highway speed increases to 65 mph, aerodynamic drag increases exponentially while rolling friction continues to increase on a linear basis. The significance of this data is that at 65 mph substantially more horsepower is required to overcome aerodynamic drag than rolling friction. This indicates that fuel savings from fairing use at 65 mph are expected to be greater than fuel savings realized at 55 mph.

Good Corporate Responsibility

Increasing concerns over carbon emissions and their impact on global warming are forcing the public and private sectors to make every effort to reduce carbon emissions. The trucking industry has the opportunity to demonstrate good corporate responsibility in reducing carbon emissions while making an attractive economic return from an investment in fairings.

CALCULATE FOR YOURSELF

Use the R.O.I. Calculator to predict your own investment return based on the miles traveld and the 6.86% savings you will earn over that distance.