SmartWay*
Transport Partnership
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PKOTECTION AGENCY
                PARTNER  CASE STUDY
    TRAILER AERODYNAMICS - BELLY FAIRINGS
                                   WHOlE
                                    FOODS
     Company Profile

     Distribution Location:  Munster, Indiana

     Point of Contact: Carl Lisek, SmartWay Transport Partnership Representative
                     Phone: 630-207-1760, email: legacyenv@comcast.net
     Number of Employees:  95

     Number of Trailers: 20
Strategy Category: Aerodynamics

Number of Power Units: 20
     Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market is now comprised of 180 stores
     in North America and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods is a leading retailer of organic and natural food
     products. This year, the company is celebrating its 25th anniversery.

     Project Description

     In 2005, Whole Foods Market, Mid-West Distribution (MWD) became a member of the Smartway
     Transport Partnership.  Whole Foods is dedicated to employing sustainable business practices and
     improving the efficiency of its operations.  "Vision becomes a reality through the combination of thoughts,
     words, and actions. Our participation  in SmartWay provides a framework to implement strategies and
     projects to achieve the environmental vision of Whole Foods Market," notes Steve Burse, Whole Foods
     MWD Facility Team Leader.

     Whole Foods MWD decided to retrofit 20 existing trailers with belly fairings due to the effectiveness of
     these aerodynamics at reducing aerodynamic drag  and improving fuel economy. Whole Foods is
     monitoring the performance of the fairing and measuring the fuel economy results.

     In outside tests, the fuel economy benefits of belly fairings have been measured using the industry
     standard SAE Recommended Practice J132, Joint TMC/ SAE  Fuel Consumption Test Procedure - Type II.
     These tests have shown significant fuel savings for a number of different tractor-trailer configurations.
                                               Whole Foods MWD projects savings of 4% on total fuel
                                               costs due to the fairings.  Projected yearly savings are
                                               16,931 gallons, based on 2,582,032 miles traveled by
                                               the fleet. At $2.50 per gallon of diesel, this equates to
                                               $42,328 saved per year.  Each gallon saved will reduce
                                               carbon dioxide emissions by 22 Ibs, saving Whole
                                               Foods MWD a total of 186 tons per year. Through
                                               improved fuel  economy, Whole Foods also expects
                                               reductions in particulate matter and nitrogen oxide
                                               emissions.
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency • Office of Transportation & Air Quality • EPA420-F-06-015 • SmartWay  Transport Partnership
                     Mail Code 6406J • Ariel Rios Bldg. • 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW • Washington, DC 20460 -or-
                    NVFEL • 2000 Traverwood Dr. • Ann Arbor Ml 48105 • (734) 214-4052 • www.epa.gov/smartway

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