May 11, 2008

Trucking company cuts speeds to save gas

By Tim Simmers / Bay Area News Group

Trucking giant Con-way Inc. is accelerating efforts to reduce fuel consumption by rolling back the maximum governed speed to 65 from 70 mph on thousands of carriers.

The company expects to save 2.8 million gallons of diesel fuel per year based on the move.

It will also reduce the group's annual carbon emissions by about 62 million pounds. The savings represents the equivalent of removing 6,300 passenger cars from U.S. highways, the company said.

The action affects 2,700 trucks within its Con-way Truckload division.

"Lowering our speed governors is a major step for us, and one of the many steps we're taking toward conserving fuel," said Herb Schmidt, president of Con-way Truckload.

In March, the company's Con-way Freight division turned back speed governors to 62 from 65 mph.

That move, affecting 8,400 tractors, was expected to reduce consumption of diesel fuel from its tractor fleet by nearly 3.2 million gallons a year.

It also is geared to eliminate about 72 million pounds of carbon emissions from the environment.

The March decision represented the equivalent of removing 7,300 cars off U.S. highways, according to the company.

Con-way took another step in April to get greener and save fuel when its unit Menlo Worldwide told third-party truckers that it planned to work with carriers that strive to reduce fuel emissions.