Improvements can be big or small, and still have a notable impact. We found just by packing our shipments better, we could make improvements by the truckload.
Have you ever walked through an airport with a heavy suitcase dragging you down....while your traveling companion carried just a coffee cup? The same need for balance applies to trucks packed full of prod
uct.
The best fuel efficiency depends on an intelligent balance of weight and size. To maximize the capacity of our trucks, we completed a year-long Truckload Utilization Project in 2007.
For example, a truckload full of lightweight Ziploc® products weighs in far below a truck’s most efficient load target, while liquid products such as Windex® glass cleaner are heavy enough to reach maximum weight while leaving empty space in the trailer.
Armed with that knowledge, we created a system that combines multiple customer orders into an optimally configured truck. We also started using more “day cabs” – small truck cabs for one-day trips, which don’t require the extra weight of a big sleeping compartment. Day cabs are typically 3,000 pounds lighter than standard truck cabs.
By putting all these insights to work, in a single 12-month period we eliminated 1,882 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent to making 90 two-person households carbon-neutral. We also used 2,098 fewer trucks and cut fuel use by 168,000 gallons.