^SmartWay
Transport Partnership
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
   Idle Reduction
                                Profile
                                                                   USA TRUCK8
                              USA Truck
   Company Profile


 Headquarters Location
   Van Buren, Arkansas

 Contact:
  Chris Carter,
    Technical Development
  SmartWay Transport
  Partnership Representative
  (479)471-3873
  qccarte@usa-truck.com

 Number of Employees:
      3,300

 Strategy Category:
  Idle reduction

 Number of Trailers:
      5,972

 Number of Power Units:
      2,565
                                     In 2005, USA Truck became a member of the SmartWay Transport
                                     Partnership. USA Truck's idle reduction strategy is multi-pronged, but cen-
                                     ters around three core goals: (1) training drivers about the financial and
                                  environmental benefits of saving fuel, (2) providing drivers with the necessary
                                  resources to reduce idle times, and (3) monitoring idle times and holding each
                                  driver accountable for his/her own  idling. Strategies to reduce idle times include
                                  auxiliary power units, block heaters and automatic engine shutoff devices. USA
                                  Truck estimates that each truck using these three strategies will save 1500 gal-
                                  lons of fuel per year. At today's fuel prices, this amounts to a per-truck savings
                                  of over $4,000!

                                  USA Truck began by testing an over-the-road tractor equipped with an APU in
                                  2004. This tractor traveled 230,000 miles and saved 2160 gallons of fuel due to
                                  APU use, accounting for a 6 percent increase in fuel efficiency. USA Truck has
                                  been able to eliminate one oil drain per year on its trucks with APUs because of
                                  reduced idling. It also found that the yearly maintenance costs for an APU are
                                  roughly equal to the cost of this single oil drain. USA Truck estimates a return
                                  on investment for its APUs of 1.5 to 2 years. By the end of 2006, USA Truck
                                  had 25 APUs in its  fleet; these APUs  combined to save over 27,000 gallons of
                                  fuel!

                                  In the coming years, USA Truck plans to adopt new strategies to save even
                                  more fuel. These strategies include fuel efficient tires, using more low-friction
                                  engine lubricants and improved aerodynamics.  Chris Carter, manager of
                                  Technical Development and Fuel Economy, said: "At USA Truck, our goal is to
                                  meet or exceed our customer's expectations in  all that we do, which includes
                                  being as efficient as possible in our operations. We aim to reduce fuel con-
                                  sumption, which in turn reduces our environmental footprint, by adopting fuel
                                  efficient strategies and utilizing fuel saving technologies. Becoming a partner
                                  with  SmartWay was a natural fit in our objective to improving efficiency."
http://www.epa.gov/smartway
                                                                                 EPA420-F-07-OI3

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