Understanding SmartWay Data:
A Primer for Shippers
Transport Partnership
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Summary of
Understanding and
Using SmartWay
Performance Data:
A Primer for Shippers
Shippers can use SmartWay
data to evaluate transportation
choices based upon carrier
environmental performance and
use this information to inform
decisions on how to reduce their
overall emissions inventory.
This document provides guid-
ance to shippers on how to use
the spreadsheet data and how to
make accurate assessments of
relative carrier performance.
EPA SmartWay provides shippers and other interested stakeholders a
spreadsheet containing performance level data for SmartWay carriers.
This spreadsheet is updated frequently.
This document explains how SmartWay collects carrier emissions data,
how SmartWay presents the data to shippers, how SmartWay shippers can
use the carrier performance data, and how to use the public performance
level spreadsheet.
How EPA Collects Carrier Emissions Data
There are 15 categories of carrier in SmartWay:
Truck carriers
Drayage
Flatbed
Less-than-truckload dry van
Mixed (no predominant operation or equipment type)
Package Delivery
Refrigerated
Specialized
Heavy/Bulk
Auto Carrier
Moving
Expedited
Ta n ke r
Truckload dry van
Logistics companies
Multimodal carriers (truck and rail intermodal operations)
These categories delineate different types of freight shipping operations
and equipment, using commonly-understood terminology.
Carriers use the FLEET Tools to calculate emissions at a fleet level.
Each fleet operation/equipment category has distinct operations charac-
teristics and meets different freight shipping/goods movement needs.
Each fleet is intended to represent an identifiable business unit that a
carrier's shipping customers can discern and select.
Fleet-level assessment is intended only within a fleet operation/equipment
category to ensure accurate "apples to apples" evaluation.
FLEET Tools use fuel, mileage and payload data to calculate emissions for
eight emissions metrics:
Grams/mile of Carbon Dioxide (C02)
Grams/mile of oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
Grams/mile of Particulate Matter 2.5 microns (PM2.5)
Grams/mile of Particulate Matter 10 microns (PMlO)
Grams/ ton-mile of Carbon Dioxide (C02)
Grams/ ton-mile of oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
Grams/ ton-mile of Particulate Matter 2.5 microns (PM2.5)
Grams/ ton-mile of Particulate Matter 10 microns (PMlO)
U.S. EPA SmartWay | EPA420-Fl2-OI8| www.epa.gov/smartway
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Understanding SmartWay Data:
A Primer for Shippers
Continued
Transport Partnership
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
How SmartWay Presents Carrier Emissions
Data to Shippers
Truck, logistics, and multimodal carriers submit their Carrier FLEET Tools to
SmartWay for evaluation and approval.
SmartWay aggregates carrier tool results of participating carriers at the fleet
level to determine overall environmental performance for each of the eight
emissions metrics within each fleet category.
SmartWay then divides the aggregated results for each emissions metric into
five performance ranges
Top 20%
Second 20%
Mid die 20%
Fourth 20%
Bottom 20%
Performance ranges are specific to each fleet category, since each fleet
category has distinct equipment and operational characteristics that can
affect both fuel consumption and emissions.
There are independent ranges for each of the eight emissions metrics.
SmartWay calculates the midpoint of each of the five performance ranges for
each of the emissions metrics in a given fleet category, and sets that as the
performance level for all of the fleets that fall within that performance range
within that fleet category.
This allows:
SmartWay Shippers to assess relative performance of carrier fleets
within operational/equipment categories for each freight shipping
need
SmartWay Shippers to equitably evaluate performance ranges among
carrier modes (e.g., truckioad dry van vs. multimodal)
SmartWay Carriers to ensure data security of their specific company
information
How SmartWay Shippers Use Performance
Level Data
Shippers use the SmartWay Shipper tool to assess their total freight
transportation emissions inventories and compare transportation options.
A Shipper inputs its activity level (i.e., miles and ton-miles) for each carrier
fleet it uses.
The shipper tool multiplies the shipper's activity level for each carrier by the
carrier's performance levels, across each of the eight emissions metrics.
The sum total of the carrier results produces an overall inventory for each of
the eight emissions metrics
U.S. EPA SmartWay | EPA420-FI2-OI8 | www.epa.gov/smartway
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Understanding SmartWay Data:
A Primer for Shippers
Continued
Transport Partnership
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Shippers can:
Identify carrier emission rates within the shipper tool or by viewing the
Carrier Performance Level spreadsheet
Estimate emission reductions based on their carrier fleet mix for shipper
controlled strategies such as reduced packaging, weight reductions, or
reducing miles
Estimate the effects of modal shift, again using their own carrier base to
compare different modes (e.g., multimodal vs. truckload dry van).
A Shipper can use SmartWay data to evaluate its transportation choices
based upon environmental performance and use this information to inform
decisions on how to reduce its overall emissions inventory. Examples
include: employing operational strategies that reduce truck or rail trips;
determining the most efficient mode for each shipping need; selecting the
best environmentally-performing carriers within each mode.
How SmartWay Shippers Can use the Public
Performance Level Spreadsheet
Shippers can use the Performance Level spreadsheet to search for fleets by:
Going to the tab for the type of fleet they are looking for
Searching the list by company name, SCAC code, or MCN
Shippers can use the performance levels to:
Select the appropriate operation/equipment category for a given freight
need based on performance ranges;
Identify carrier performance levels within each operation/equipment
category and assess relative effectiveness; and
Assess fleets on ANY of the eight emissions metrics to fit different
needs.
(e.g., many shippers use C02 grams/ton-mile to develop their carbon
footprint; however, shippers looking to reduce their PM or NOx emissions
may opt to look at grams/mile).
U.S. EPA SmartWay | EPA420-FI2-OI8 | www.epa.gov/smartway
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