Transport Partnership
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Logistics Company FLEET Tool:
Data Collection Overview and
Workbook ^%
Part 2
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
-------
Transport Partnership
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Logistics Company FLEET Tool:
Data Collection Overview and
Workbook ^
Part 2
Transportation and Climate Division
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
United States Office ofTransportation and Air Quality
Environmental Protection EPA-420-B-11-044
Agency
November 2011
-------
Introduction to Part 2: DATA COLLECTION OVERVIEW AND
WORKBOOK
This guide is Part 2 of a three-part series to help trucking companies participate in the SmartWay
Transport Partnership.
In this guide you will learn about:
1. The general organization of the SmartWay Logistics Partner FLEET Tool, and
2. Data needs for each section of the tool.
You will also have the opportunity to collect your data using our data collection worksheets in
preparation for the data entry step (Part 3).
Please review this guide carefully BEFORE attempting to use the tool or enter data. Understanding the
data requirements and gathering all data in advance will save considerable time and frustration while
completing your tool submission.
If you wish to explore the Logistics Partner FLEET tool in preparation for joining the program, please
review Part 3: Data Entry Guide and return to this workbook to prepare for gathering your data.
Please note that each fleet that you operate will be characterized separately. If you have multiple
fleets with different operations modes, or you contract segments of your freight operations to other
companies, you may need to complete additional tools (e.g., Truck FLEET and/or Multi-modal FLEET) to
accurately assess your operations.
In the event that you have a question about any of the data collection activities, you can contact
SmartWay Email Support at smartway transport@epa.gov and a member of our SmartWay Partner
Support Team will assist you.
WARNING!
Completing the Logistics Partner FLEET tool requires a considerable amount of information
about your company, the divisions that are joining SmartWay, and the fleets within those divisions.
There are multiple sections and screens to complete for each fleet that you operate.
While you will have the ability to save your tool along the way and return to it at anytime, we
STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to review Part 1 to understand key information about joining the
partnership. Then, use Part 2 of this series to learn about the data requirements and gather your data
BEFORE attempting to use Part 3 to complete the tool.
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 3
-------
Overview of Data Collection Requirements
The SmartWay Logistics Partner FLEET tool is the data collection and calculation system for truck carriers
that join the SmartWay Transport Partnership. There are three sections of the SmartWay Logistics
Partner FLEET Tool that require data about your company's operations:
1. Enter Company and Contact Information
2. Define Your Logistics Fleets
3. Enter Activity and Fuel Information for Each of Your Fleets
This guide will explore the data required for completing these three sections. Part 3 of the three-part
user guide series explains more about the structure of the tool and the data entry process; this guide
will focus primarily on what you need to do to prepare for completing the tool.
NOTE: Before beginning your data collection, select the last calendar year for which you
have full annual (12 months) data. This means that you have data from January of the
calendar year through December of the same year. If you are a new SmartWay partner and
do not have a full year of operational data, please collect a minimum of three months' data for input
into the SmartWay tool. In your next update year, you will be required to submit a full year's data.
Section 1: Enter Company and Contact Information
SmartWay needs complete company information for correspondence, web posting, press releases, and
awards and recognition (where applicable). The SmartWay tool asks for:
General company information (e.g., name, location, web address, etc.)
A primary contact1 for any questions about your company's participation and tool submissions
An executive contact 2for participation in awards and recognition events
Additional contacts (optional): Additional contacts may include your press/media contact, your
fleet manager, etc.anyone who is not the primary contact for tool and participation issues but
may be involved in your involvement with SmartWay.
Please use Worksheet #1 in this guide to prepare for filling out the Contact Information Screen in the
Logistics Partner FLEET Tool.
The Primary Contact is the Individual designated by the Executive Contact to directly interface with SmartWay regarding specific tasks
involved in the timely submission of the tool to SmartWay. The Primary Contact coordinates communication between SmartWay and the
partner's company.
The Executive Contact is the company executive who is responsible for agreeing to the requirements in its SmartWay Partnership Agreement,
overseeing the Primary Contact (as appropriate) and ensuring the timely submission of the Tool to SmartWay.
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 4
-------
Section 2: Define Your Logistics Fleets
The SmartWay Logistics Partner FLEET Tool allows you to characterize your operations at the fleet level.
In the Logistics Partner FLEET tool, a fleet is defined as any business unit that a customer has discretion
to hire. For example, if your customers can hire your truckload dry van fleet separately from your
flatbed fleet, you will need to enter each as a separate fleet.
NOTE: You may enter multiple fleets into a single tool submission.
SmartWay highly recommends developing your list of fleets offline using a company organization chart
or perhaps a customer interface webpage. The best strategy is to have a clear idea of how to define your
fleets before filling out the tool.
Your company's name and your fleet(s) will be listed on the SmartWay website to indicate your
participation in the SmartWay Transport Partnership. Your shipper and logistics customers can also use
the SmartWay Online Database to search for your company by the name you submit in the tool, your
SCAC number or your Motor Carrier Number.
^ Therefore, it is critical that you identify your company and fleet(s) in the tool as you would
have them appear on the SmartWay website.
The "Define Your Fleet" section of the tool has two tabbed subsections:
1. Identify Logistics Fleets
2. Characterize Logistics Fleets
Please use the Worksheet #2 provided in this guide to prepare for filling out the Identify Logistics
Fleets and Characterize Logistics Fleets sections in the Logistics Partner FLEET Tool.
NOTE: You may wish to print multiple copies of Worksheet #2 if you have multiple fleets.
Data Requirements for "Identify Logistics Fleets" Tab
For each logistics fleet, you will need to specify:
Logistics Fleet Name(s): To name your fleets properly for listing on the website, begin with your
partner name followed by the fleet or division name. Example: for a truckload division of AAA
Logistics, the naming convention would be: AAA Logistics-Truckload Services.
Standard Carrier Alpha Codes (SCACs) and/or Motor Carrier Numbers (MCNs): The Standard
Carrier Alpha Code is a unique 2-4 alphabetic character code used by the transportation industry
to identify transportation companies. The Motor Carrier Number is a 6 or 7 digit number
provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Fleet Type: Fleet Type is defined as the service type for your fleet. There are two options
accepted by the tool"For-Hire" and "Private/Dedicated." If your company has only one
service division, your "Fleet Type" selection will reflect your company's operations as a whole. If
there are multiple divisions, each should have its fleet type defined separately.
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 5
-------
Fleet Contact: This contact should be one of the contacts you already identified in the Company
Information section as the fleet contact for each fleet. NOTE: A drop-down menu will supply
this information; if there is a contact for the fleet that is not already listed in the Company and
Contacts worksheet, you will need to go back to that screen to add the contact information.
Data Requirements for "Characterize Logistics Fleets" Tab
For each logistics fleet, you will also need to specify:
Fleet-level Operational Category (by percentage of mileage): Determine the percent of each
operational type based on approximate mileage. The percentages for each fleet must sum to
100%. This percentage calculation does not need to be exact but should be reasonably
reflective of your fleet. Operational categories include:
o Truckload (TL) - A truckload carrier is a company that generally contracts an entire
trailer-load to a single customer.
o Less-than-truckload (LTD - Less-than-truckload carriers collect freight from various
shippers and consolidate that freight onto enclosed trailers for linehaul to the delivering
terminal or to a hub terminal where the freight will be further sorted and consolidated
for delivery.
o Dravage (Drav) - Dray carriers are predominantly associated with port, or rail-
head connections where freight is picked up, and moved to another transfer facility
or transport mode terminal. Often these moves are short in nature, but can be longer
depending on specific situations.
o Package delivery (PD) - Package delivery covers operations characterized by residential
or business package delivery/pickup consisting primarily of single or small groups of
packages. It does not include larger scale pickup delivery operations that are more
properly characterized as LTL operations.
Fleet-level Body Type (by percentage of equipment): Determine the percent of each body type
represented in the fleet. Percentages can be approximate, based on vehicle populations, but
must sum to 100%. Body type categories include:
o Dry van/box van
o Refrigerated (Reefer)
o Flatbed
o Tanker
o Intermodal chassis containers (pooled and owned)
o Special hauler (e.g., Heavy Haul, Auto Carriers, Bulk Carriers, Household Moving,
Hopper, Livestock, Garbage, Utility, and other specialized carriers)
Use the Logistics Partner FLEET Tool to characterize your rail freight movement. Body type
selections for rail freight should match the above selections as closely as possible.
Once you have defined your logistics fleets, you will need to enter detailed information regarding fleet
vehicles and activity levels.
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 6
-------
Section 3: Enter Data for Each of Your Logistics Fleets
Now that you have defined your logistics fleets, you will be asked to provide additional information for
EACH fleet separately.
Data Requirements for "Select Carrierfsl" Tab
Please use the Worksheet #3A provided in this guide to prepare for filling out the Select Carrier(s)
section in the Logistics Partner FLEET Tool (make one copy for each fleet).
To begin, you will need to identify the carriers included in each logistics fleet. Two options are available
for identifying your carriers. If you have a large number of carriers (e.g., as a large 3PL), you may wish to
develop your carrier details separately and upload your data in a single file using the Data Import
method. Alternatively, if your logistics fleet has a limited number of carriers, you may choose to specify
your carriers one at a time using the Manual Entry method. These two methods are described in detail
in the Logistics Partner FLEET Tool User Guide Part 3.
Regardless of the method you choose, you will need to first identify the mode of transport for the
carrier. Four carrier mode selections are available, including:
Rail
Truck
Multi-modal
Logistics
(Note: By selecting "AN" on the Tool's Select Carrier(s) screen, you may search across all carriers,
regardless of mode.)
Next, you may also specify a carrier bin category for the Truck mode. Truck bin categories include:
TL Dry Van
LTL Dry Van
Refrigerated
Flatbed
Tanker
Dray
Package
Specialized
Mixed
Bin category selections are not currently available for other modes but may be added in the future.
(Note: Multi-modal selections should list "Truck/Rail" as the bin category.)
After identifying the mode (and bin category if available), you should identify each carrier's specific fleet
name, as listed in the SmartWay Carrier Data file, along with any associated Standard Carrier Alpha
Codes (SCACs) and/or Motor Carrier Numbers (MCNs). The Carrier data file can be downloaded from
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 7
-------
the SmartWay website using the link under Step 4 on the Logistics Tool Home screen and viewed on the
Select Carrier(s) screen or offline using Microsoftฎ Excel.
In certain cases, a carrier may have multiple fleets associated with its operations. In the case of trucking
and logistics partners, you may use the SCAC list in the Carrier Data file to select among multiple fleets.
The Select Carrier(s) screen also allows you to filter carrier fleets by SCAC and MCN if needed.
If one or more carriers in your fleet are not SmartWay Partners, you should specify "Non-SmartWay" for
the given mode - for example, Non-SmartWay Truck Carrier or Non-SmartWay Multi-modal Carriers. If
you have any non-SmartWay carriers in your list, then you must also specify the number of non-
SmartWay carriers utilized for each mode, but only include carriers used during the reporting year.
Data Requirements for "Activity Data" Tab
Please use the Worksheet #3B provided in this guide to prepare for filling out the Activity Data section
in the Logistics Partner FLEET Tool (make one copy for each fleet).
First provide a detailed text Data Source Description for the sources used to estimate your mileage and
ton-mile data for your carriers. Be sure to indicate how you calculated the values, and where this data
was obtained. For example, you may use PC Miler, carrier reports, or accounting/purchasing records to
determine miles. Payload and ton-mile estimates may be based on bills of lading or other internal
records.
Next you must specify a Data Availability option for each carrier. There are seven Data Availability
options, as summarized below.
1. Enter ton-miles and miles (preferred option)
2. Enter ton-miles and average payload
3. Enter ton-miles, density, and load fraction
4. Enter ton-miles only
5. Enter miles and average payload
6. Enter miles, density, and load fraction
7. Enter miles only
If you have the necessary data, select Option 1 to provide estimates for both ton-miles and total miles.
If only one of these values is known, the other value can be calculated using a combination of your
average freight density, your average load percentage (e.g., 100% for truckload), and/or your average
payload in tons. Although dependent on industry type and product mix, Option 2 is generally preferred
to Option 3 in terms of data quality, while Option 3 is preferred to Option 4. Similarly, Option 5 is
generally preferred to Option 6 in terms of data quality, while Option 6 is preferred to Option 7.
Finally, providing ton-mile data (Options 2, 3, and 4) is generally preferable to simple mileage data for
most modes. For example, when shipping bulk commodities by rail, ton-mile estimates are often
available and will result in a more precise estimate of mass emissions (when combined with gram per
ton-mile metrics for each carrier) than relying on gram per mile metrics. Ton-mile estimates are also
most appropriate for LTL truck shipments, given the uncertainty in cargo volume utilization. Ton-miles
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 8
-------
are also more appropriate for heavier TL shipments. Alternatively, mileage activity measures are most
appropriate for light truckload shipments. However, for all calculations, where precise estimates of
weight are often unknown, and distance estimates are highly reliable, mileage activity measures may be
the better metric.
Guidance regarding payload, density, and load percentage data is provided below.
Ideally, when entering information for a carrier, you should use Data Availability Option 1. If
this is not possible, please choose the method that uses the most accurate data at your
disposal. In this way the tool will utilize the most accurate data available for the ton-mile and
mile comparison metrics as well as for the emissions footprint calculations.
After specifying the Data Availability options, you must then pick the preferred metric (Inventory
Calculation Metric) for calculating mass emissions for each of your carriers. Options include:
grams per (truck) mile;
grams per railcar-mile, and;
grams per ton-mile (all modes).
Select the metric most appropriate for characterizing your carrier activity. You should select g/mile
metrics for estimating mass emissions for lighter weight truck freight, while g/ton-mile should generally
be used for rail and heavier truck freight.
After specifying the Inventory Calculation Metric, record the total Ton-Miles and Total Miles data for
each carrier. If the carrier mode is rail, record total railcar-miles, otherwise specify total truckload-miles.
Enter the data to the nearest whole number.
Data Availability Option 1 - Enter both total annual miles and ton-miles for the given carrier.
Data Availability Option 2 - Enter total ton-miles along with your estimated average payload (per truck
or railcar, as appropriate) in short tons (2,000 Ibs).
Data Availability Option 3 - Enter your total ton-miles. Next, you must estimate your freight density
using the Average Density Calculator on the Activity Data screen. The calculator allows you to specify
the fraction of shipments that fall into various commodity groupings. Each grouping has an associated
average density, expressed in pounds per cubic foot of available cargo space. The densities for a given
commodity category vary for rail and truck modes, since utilized container space varies by mode.3
For each carrier, record the percentage distribution (as a fraction of total miles) for each of the
Commodity Groupings, as shown in Worksheet 3B.
Next you will need to estimate the number of loads (truck or railcar) by load fraction category. The
Logistics Tool hasten load categories:
3 The density categories for Logistics and Multi-modal carriers are assumed to be the same as for Truck carriers.
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 9
-------
1/10 truckload (or railcar-load)
2/10 truckload (or railcar-load)
9/10 truckload (or railcar-load)
Full truckload (or railcar-load)
Record the annual number of loads for each of these categories, for each carrier, matching your
estimates to the most appropriate (closest) category. Load estimates can be volume-based (with full
truckload equivalent to cubing out) or weight-based (with full truckload equivalent to weighing out).
Data Availability Option 4 - Enter total ton-miles.
Data Availability Option 5 - Enter total miles along with your estimated average payload (per truck or
railcar, as appropriate) in short tons (2,000 Ibs).
Data Availability Option 6 -Enter total miles, then record the commodity type distributions and load
fraction information as described for Option 3 above.
Data Availability Option 7 - Enter total miles.
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 10
-------
Worksheets for Data Collection
List of Worksheets
#1: Company and Contact Worksheet 12
#2: Logistics Fleet Characterization Worksheet 13
#3A: Select Carriers Worksheet 14
#3B: Activity Data Worksheet 15
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 11
-------
Worksheet #1: Company and Contact Information
#1. Enter your Contact Information:
General Company Contact Information
Company Name
Headquarters
Mailing Address
City
Main Phone
Number
Primary Contact Information
Primary Contact Name
Primary Contact Mailing
Address
City
Primary Contact Phone
Number
Toll-free
Number
State/Province
Cell
number
Zip Country
Web Address
State/Province
Email
Address
Zip Country
Executive Contact Information
Executive Contact Name
Executive Contact Mailing
Address
City
Executive Contact Phone
Number
State/Province
Email
Address
Zip Country
Other Contact Information
Executive Contact Name
Executive Contact Mailing
Address
City
Executive Contact Phone
Number
Contact's role in program
State/Province
Email
Address
Zip Country
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 12
-------
Worksheet #2: Logistics Fleet Characterization
Complete this worksheet for each logistics fleet you will be submitting in the Logistics Partner FLEET
Tool.
#2: Define your Logistics Fleets
Fleet Name (partner name followed by specific name)
SCAC: MCN: FLEET TYPE:_
Fleet Contact:
Operation Category Percentages:
Truckload LTL Drayage Package Delivery_
Body Type Percentages:
Dry Van Reefer Flatbed Tanker Chassis Special Hauler_
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 13
-------
Worksheet #3A: Select Carrier(s)
Complete the following for each logistics fleet you will be submitting in the Logistics Partner FLEET
Tool. Make multiple copies of the table below to enter all carriers in the fleet if needed.
#3A: Identify your Logistics Fleets
Logistics Fleet Name
Carrier Name*
ModeA
Bin Category
**
#Non-
SmartWay
CarriersAA
* Exactly as it appears in SmartWay Carrier data file
A Truck, Rail, Logistics, Multi-modal
** Truck bin categories include:
TL Dry Van; LTL Dry Van;
Refrigerated; Flatbed;
Tanker; Dray;
Package; Specialized; Mixed
AA If applicable, for current reporting year only
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 14
-------
Worksheet #3B: Activity Data (page 1 of 5)
Complete the following for each logistics fleet you will be submitting in the Logistics Partner FLEET
Tool. Make multiple copies of the tables if needed to enter all carriers in the fleet.
#3B: Enter Activity Data
Logistics Fleet Name:
Provide Data Source Description:
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 15
-------
Worksheet #3B: Enter Activity Data (page 2 of 5)
Data Availability Option, Inventory Calculation Metric, Miles, Ton-Miles, and Average Payload
Carrier Name
Data
Availability
Option (1-7)*
Inventory
Calculation
MetricA
Ton-miles
Miles
Average
Payload**
* Options include
1 = (Preferred) I know both Ton-miles and Total Miles.
2 = I know Ton-miles and Average Payload.
3 = I know Ton-miles and have general information about number of loads and cargo density.
4 = I know Ton-miles only.
5 = I know Total miles and Average Payload.
6 = I know Total Miles and have general information about number of loads and cargo density.
7 = I know Total Miles only.
A g/ton-mile; g/mile; g/railcar-mile
** For Options 2 and 5 only
age
-------
Worksheet #3B: Enter Activity Data (page 3 of 5)
Complete the following for each truck carrier in the logistics fleet. Only required for Data Availability
Options 3 and 6.
Make multiple copies of the tables as needed to enter all carriers in the fleet.
Commodity Distribution (for Average Density Calculator)
Carrier Fleet Name:
Truck Carrier Commodity Distribution
Commodity
Group
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Description
Pharmaceutical products
Electronic and electrical equipment; furniture,
mattresses, lamps, etc; machinery; mail and courier
parcels; misc. manufactured products; mixed freight;
non-powered tools; plastic and rubber; powered tools;
precision instruments and apparatus; printed products;
vehicles, including parts.
Alcoholic beverages; all other agricultural products; all
other prepared foodstuff; all other transportation
equipment; articles of base metal; bakery and milled
grains; base metal -finished or semi-finished; live
animals and fish; meat, seafood and their preparation;
paper and paperboard articles; pulp, newsprint, paper
or paperboard; recyclable products; textile, leather,
and related products; tobacco products; wood
products.
All other waste and scrap; animal feed or products of
animal origin; hazardous waste; misc/other;
monumental or building stones; non-metallic mineral
products.
All other chemical products; all other coal and refined
petroleum; base chemicals; crude petroleum; fertilizers
and fertilizer materials.
All other non-metallic minerals; cereal grains; logs and
other wood in rough; metallic ores and concentrates;
natural sand.
Coal; fuel oils; gasoline and aviation turbine.
Gravel and crushed stones
Avg Ibs/cu ft
7.8
9.3
11.3
13.2
14.1
16.3
17.2
18.3
% of Carrier
Freight*
mileage basis - must sum to 100
age
-------
Worksheet #3B: Enter Activity Data (page 4 of 5)
Complete the following for each rail/intermodal carrier in the logistics fleet. Only required for Data
Availability Options 3 and 6.
Make multiple copies of the table as needed to enter all carriers in the fleet.
Commodity Distribution (for Average Density Calculator)
Carrier Fleet Name:
Rail Carrier Commodity Distribution
Commodity
Group
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Description
Electrical equipment; furniture; live animals and fish;
textiles and leather; vehicles.
Mixed freight
Machinery; tobacco products; transportation
equipment
Logs and rough wood; meat, fish, seafood; misc.
manufacturing; paper products; products of
petroleum
Alcoholic beverages; animal feed; fabricated base
metals; fats and oils; fuel oils; gasoline and fuel;
milled grain products; other agricultural products;
pulp and paper; waste and scrap; wood products
Base metal; basic chemicals; building stone; cereal
grains; chemical products; fertilizers; gravel and
crushed stone; metallic ores; natural sands; non-
metallic minerals; plastics and rubber
Coal
Avg Ibs/cu ft
7.7
16.1
22.6
34.6
42.0
48.3
54.3
%of
Carrier
Freight*
mileage basis - must sum to 100
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 18
-------
Worksheet #3B: Enter Activity Data (page 5 of 5)
Complete the following for each carrier in the logistics fleet. Only required for Data Availability
Options 2 and 5.
Make multiple copies of the table as needed to enter all carriers in the fleet.
Load Distribution (for Average Load Calculator)
Carrier Fleet Name:
Carrier Load Distribution
Load Fraction*
1/10
2/10
3/10
4/10
5/10
6/10
7/10
8/10
9/10
Full
# Loads/yr
* Truckload or railcar-load, depending on mode
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 19
-------
Next Steps
Now that you understand the data collection requirements for the SmartWay Logistics Partner FLEET
Tool, and you have collected the data you need in the worksheets, you are ready to download the tool
and begin the data entry process. Part 3 of the user guide series will guide you through the tool screens,
and help you enter the data and troubleshoot any problems you may have with your submission. Please
visit http://www.epa.gov/smartway/partnership/logistics.htm to download Part 3: Data Entry Guide
and the Logistics Partner FLEET Tool if you haven't already.
Logistics Company Fleet Tool Users Guide Part 2 | Page 20
------- |