Mesilla Valley Transportation sets new standard in trucking efficiency
Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT), the largest trucking company in West Texas and New Mexico, is continuing to make advances in fuel efficiency by outfitting their entire fleet of 1,200 semi-tractors with new aerodynamic technologies produced by FlowBelow Aero, an entrepreneurial company based in Austin, Texas.
Since its founding in 1981, MVT has built a reputation in the trucking industry for operating the most fuel efficient fleet in the nation, according to the company. MVT’s purchase of 1,200 FlowBelow Tractor AeroKits is expected to further reduce the fleet’s fuel consumption by over 300,000 gallons of diesel per year while providing savings to the company in excess of $1 million per year. As an additional benefit, the use of this technology will substantially improve air quality by reducing the emissions from MVT’s 1,200 trucks.
Each Tractor AeroKit consists of four wheel covers and four fairings that fill the gaps in-between and behind the semi-tractor’s rear wheels. The eight-component system reduces aerodynamic drag and saves fuel by guiding airflow smoothly along the side and past the rear wheels of the truck. One of the biggest problems with aerodynamic products is that they can impede maintenance. In contrast, when maintenance is required or when chains need to be installed on a truck fitted with an AeroKit the products can be removed instantly and without tools using FlowBelow’s patent pending quick release design. FlowBelow claims that the AeroKit provides 2.23% in fuel savings according to industry standard SAE J1321 fuel economy testing performed by the Texas Transportation Institute using MVT’s trucks.
FlowBelow’s Tractor AeroKit system improves fuel economy by reducing the aerodynamic drag around the rear wheels of the truck.
Royal Jones, CEO of Mesilla Valley Transportation, is serious about his approach toward the reduction of fuel costs and aerodynamic efficiency. According to Jones, “We started testing aerodynamic modifications back in 1984. We’ve always made a big push to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to fuel efficiency because any fuel savings we get goes straight to our bottom line.” A quick look at the MVT fleet reveals how many initiatives the company has taken to maximize the fuel economy of their trucks. In addition to the FlowBelow AeroKit, their entire fleet is equipped with wide-base tires designed to lessen weight and rolling resistance and a drivetrain that powers only one rear axle instead of two. On their trailers, MVT has made additional aerodynamic improvements by reducing the gap between the truck and trailer, installing trailer side skirts, and using a collapsible boat tail.
The result of MVT’s efforts to date is an unprecedented fleet average fuel economy of about nine miles per gallon. In comparison, the national average for tractor-trailers is 5.8 miles per gallon¹. While a difference of three miles per gallon might not sound like much in a passenger vehicle, for a fleet of tractor-trailers (with each truck traveling 140,000 miles per year) the difference in fuel consumption is staggering. A fleet the same size as MVT getting three miles per gallon less will consume over 9 million more gallons of fuel than MVT every year. With the price of diesel fuel hovering at close to $4 per gallon, that translates to over $30 million in savings per year. MVT’s latest investment in FlowBelow’s aerodynamic technology will continue to set them apart from other trucking companies as a model of efficiency and profitability.
With the price of fuel hovering at close to $4 per gallon, that translates to over $30 million in savings per year. MVT’s latest investment in FlowBelow’s aerodynamic technology will continue to set them apart from other trucking companies as a model of efficiency and profitability.
While many of MVT’s investments in aerodynamic technology may seem to be ‘no-brainers’, the company has made a habit of double, and even triple checking the reliability of claims made by vendors. According to Jones, “An overwhelming number of fuel-saving products simply don’t do what they claim to do.” Part of the problem with these products is how difficult and expensive it is to determine whether the technology has any merit or not. Jones says that at fleet managers at MVT “We have learned to be highly skeptical of the numbers vendors give us, so after FlowBelow provided their test results we actually went back and did additional fuel economy testing with an engineering team to verify the savings. The investments we make in testing new products are considerable, but they have paid for themselves many times over by allowing us to make smart, fully informed decisions when it comes to implementing those technologies on all of our equipment.”
To some degree, trucking fleets can make more informed decisions when investigating aerodynamic technologies thanks to the EPA SmartWay Technology program. EPA's SmartWay program develops test protocols, reviews strategies and verifies the performance of vehicles, technologies and equipment that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases and other air pollutants from freight transport². However, currently the EPA SmartWay program only verifies aerodynamic products for trailers, not tractors, according to FlowBelow. The company intends to change that and has been working with the EPA SmartWay program to create a new category that their technology can be classified in.
In 2010, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) began to require trucking fleets which operate in California to utilize EPA SmartWay verified aerodynamic technology on their trailers. CARB’s policies have been the source of much controversy in the trucking industry, but there is no doubt that their actions have accelerated the adoption of trailer side skirts and other aerodynamic products for trailers. Unlike trailer aero products, FlowBelow’s Tractor AeroKit is not required for CARB compliance, according to the company. However, that has not been a substantial barrier to the commercialization of their products. According to Josh Butler, President of FlowBelow, “The economic benefits of our product are such that the return on investment can be faster than comparable aerodynamic technologies for trailers. Our customers are willingly purchasing our products for their trucks to save money and not because they are being required to.”
One of the factors that benefits fleets using FlowBelow’s product is that because it is mounted to the tractor, which has higher utilization than the trailer, the return on investment can be quicker than a comparable aerodynamic product mounted to the trailer. According to Jones, “In our case, we operate with 1,200 trucks and 5,000 trailers. So that means that we have to buy over four times as many products to equip our trailer fleet as we do our tractor fleet. With FlowBelow’s product we expect a faster installation and a faster payback than other aerodynamic technologies we’ve already adopted for our trailers.”
According to Josh Butler, President of FlowBelow, “Forward thinking trucking companies like MVT are making serious efforts to reduce fuel expenses, maximize profitability, and stay competitive. These efforts will substantially reduce our dependence on foreign oil, improve the economy, and reduce the impact that freight transportation has on air quality.”
The fuel savings from FlowBelow’s product, 2.23 percent according to the company’s third party testing, could reduce fuel consumption in the US trucking industry by over 8 billion gallons of diesel per year while saving the industry over $2 billion per year.
About FlowBelow
FlowBelow is a Texas-based aerodynamics company founded by mechanical and aerospace engineers, Josh Butler and Kyle Walker. Their product development process includes advanced computational fluid dynamics modeling and extensive interaction with fleet mechanics and drivers to ensure the products provide utility, efficiency, and profitability for fleets.
FlowBelow’s products are manufactured in the USA and have fuel savings verified by third party
SAE Type II fuel economy testing. The FlowBelow Tractor AeroKit includes Quick-Release Wheel Covers and a pair of Tandem Fairings that work together as a complete aerodynamic system to address the complex airflow around the exposed rear wheels of the tractor. The fuel savings provided by the Tractor AeroKit typically provides a return on investment for long haul trucking fleets in one year or less. For more information please visit www.flowbelow.com
About Mesilla Valley Transportation
Located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, Mesilla Valley Transportation operates a fleet of 1,200 tractors and 5,000 trailers. The company began as a small fleet of three trucks in 1981 hauling primarily refrigerated/perishable goods in the Southwest. Mesilla Valley Transportation is now the largest locally-owned trucking company in the West Texas and Southern New Mexico area. MVT specializes in time-sensitive freight transportation between major manufacturing areas in the U.S., and from border to border. Throughout its ongoing effort to improve efficiency, MVT has adopted numerous fuel-saving technologies and implemented driver incentive programs, among other efforts. The culmination of these efforts has resulted in MVT operating one of the most fuel-efficient fleets in the U.S. For more information please visit www.m-v-t.com
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Contact: Josh Butler 512-520-5350
Sources:
¹ Bureau of Transportation Statistics (2014) U S Department of Transportation.
Retrieved October 10, 2014 from http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_04_14.html
² EPA SmartWay Technology Program. United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Retrieved October 10, 2014 from
