Celadon Earns EPA's Top SmartWay Score

April 8, 2008
Celadon Trucking Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Celadon Group Inc., has earned the top score awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Celadon Trucking Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Celadon Group Inc., has earned the top score awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for freight carriers that participate in their SmartWay Transport Partnership.

"I'm extremely proud of this accomplishment," said Celadon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Russell. "Our Maintenance and Operations employees worked very hard to make this possible."

SmartWay is a collaboration within the freight industry to increase fuel efficiency while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution. By 2012, this voluntary partnership aims to reduce between 33-66 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions per year. At the same time, the initiative will result in fuel savings of up to 150 million barrels of oil annually.

Celadon has earned a Shipper Index Factor (SIF) of 1.25. A SIF of 1.25 represents outstanding environmental performance and serves as confirmation that Celadon is utilizing most of the commercially available fuel saving strategies and is actively evaluating the latest emerging technologies. Only partners with a score of 1.25 are awarded the honor of displaying the SmartWay Transport Partner logo.

"As a SmartWay Partner, our employees and customers can take pride in knowing our company has taken an aggressive, pro-active approach in doing its part to support a cleaner environment," said Russell.

Celadon operates a fleet of approximately 3,000 trucks and 8,000 trailers. Its SmartWay initiatives include the following equipment changes:
* Installation of auxiliary air heaters on all trucks coming in over the past year to eliminate the engine's need to idle in cold weather;
* Equipping trucks and trailers with the most fuel efficient tires available on the market;
* Accelerating new truck purchases planned for the next two years, all of which will include EPA-compliant engines in SmartWay-certified trucks;
* Recalibrating new engines to produce less than 30 grams of NOx at an idle;
* Shortening trailer to tractor gaps to minimize aerodynamic drag;
* Use of synthetic lubricants in all transmissions and differentials to minimize friction;
· Reduction in maximum road speed for the entire fleet.