“To meet the tough new fuel economy and emissions regulations being proposed today, next generation commercial vehicles will need to be lighter, cleaner and more fuel efficient – and aluminum delivers on all fronts. If newly built trailers and Class 8 trucks were down weighted by using even more aluminum, it could save 3,300 pounds for each unit, in turn saving one billion gallons of diesel fuel and 10 million tons of carbon annually across the fleet.
In an industry where less vehicle weight means more company profit, strategic weight reduction is a smart business tool that is rising in importance. It’s simple physics and basic economics: heavier vehicles need more fuel to operate and suffer from reduced payload capacity, both of which waste money. That’s why the average class 8 truck today already uses more than 1,000 pounds of aluminum in the form of forged wheels, trailer structure, cabs, fuel tanks and other critical components. Aluminum use is expected to continue rising in the future.