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Freight
 Nationally,
moving freight accounts for 20 percent of all energy consumed
in the transportation sector. Trucks carry approximately 66
percent of all freight shipped in the United States, while
rail carries about 16 percent. Together, truck and rail transport
now consume over 35 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year.
In the Northeast, 40 percent of all on-road transportation-related
nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 51 percent of the fine particle
emissions (called fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5) are from
heavy-duty trucks. Yet these trucks are responsible for approximately
seven percent of the region’s vehicle miles traveled.
(2002 Data)
The Northeast corridor also relies heavily on rail
to transport freight. Rail often operates in densely populated
urban areas where ozone levels consistently exceed the health
standard. With locomotives having useful lives of up to 40
years, programs to control emissions are especially important
in this region. The best strategies for reducing diesel emissions
from the railroad freight industry, as with passenger trains
and smaller locomotives, include electrification, advanced
emissions controls, idle reduction and switching to low sulfur
diesel fuel.
Members of the Northeast Diesel Collaborative are actively
engaged in measures to reduce diesel emissions from ground
freight transportation:
- The nation's first truck stop electrification project
installed 28 bays at Hunt Point Market, the largest produce
market in the U.S., located in the Bronx, NY
- Truck stops along I-90 and I-295 in New York and New Jersey
have 238 electrified bays to reduce idling
- In Massachusetts and Connecticut, 30 switchyard locomotives
have installed auxiliary power units that give the trains
power even when the engines are off
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Federal Regulations
Clean Diesel
Trucks and Buses Rule: The
Clean Diesel Trucks and Buses Rule sets more stringent emissions
standards for on-road diesel vehicles beginning with those
manufactured in 2007. The rules require clean diesel fuel with
a sulfur content capped at 15 parts per million and the use
of advanced emission control technology. Exhaust emissions
from these vehicles will decrease by more than 90 percent.
While cleaner fuel will reduce emissions from all diesel vehicles,
the new emission standards only affect newly manufactured on-road
diesel vehicles, so the full benefits of these regulations
will not be realized for years to come.
Emissions Standards
for Locomotives: An
upcoming rulemaking will set more stringent emissions standards
for diesel locomotive engines, starting as early as 2011. EPA
is considering standards that could achieve nearly 90 percent
reductions in particulate matter and nitrogen oxides through
the use of advanced emission control technology and clean diesel
fuel with a sulfur content capped at 15 parts per million.
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State and Local Regulations
Six of the eight Northeast states have anti-idling regulations:
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January 26, 2006 - New England Railroad
Club Meeting
The New England Railroad Club and NESCAUM, on behalf of the
Northeast Diesel Collaborative, organized a "green technologies" panel
for the annual "Mechanical Night" meeting of its
members. In early 2006, more than 100 members of the club gathered
for a panel on "Saving Fuel and Reducing Emissions with
'Green' Locomotive Technologies" that included presentations
on NEDC, fuels and technologies, and a retrofit demonstration
project with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's
commuter rail. For conference agenda and presentations click
here »
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March 28, 2006 - New England Rail Expo and
Forum
The Northeast Diesel Collaborative hosted a special seminar
at the 2006 New England Rail Expo & Forum. This
seminar examined key issues facing railroad operators today,
including new and emerging technologies that can save fuel
and reduce emissions, a review of upcoming fuel regulations
and their effects on the rail industry in the Northeast, funding
opportunities including low interest loans, an examination
of New York Container Terminal's choice to use on-dock
hybrid locomotives, and the Port Authority of New York & New
Jersey's intensive capital redevelopment on-dock and
regional rail improvement program. For the seminar agenda
and presentations click here »
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FHWA Talking Freight Seminar Series
The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration
hosts monthly net-conference seminars to provide a convenient
and no-cost way for transportation practitioners to broaden
their freight knowledge base and develop new skills to help
them do their jobs better. Visit http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/freightplanning/talking.htm to register for upcoming sessions and see/hear recordings of
previous seminars.
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Reports
ARB Chair's Seminar Series - January 9, 2008, 1:30 to 3:30
p.m. PST
"Identification and Evaluation of Potential Best Practices
for Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Freight Transportation"
H. Christopher Frey, Ph.D.
North Carolina State University
Freight transportation accounts for approximately 9% of total
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. The individual
contributions of each of the five freight transportation modes
to total freight transportation GHG emissions are 60, 6, 5,
13, and 16 percent for truck, rail, air, water, and pipeline
modes, respectively. Energy use for all modes could increase
by 75% from 2003 to 2030. We surveyed 59 potential best practices
for reducing energy use and GHG emissions in freight transportation.
The GHG emissions of interest here are CO2, methane (CH4),
and refrigerants. Download
the Best Practices Guidebook for Greenhouse Gas Reductions
in Freight Transportation Final Report.
Scoping Study to Evaluate Locomotive Emissions Operating in New Haven, Connecticut and Potential Control Options (NESCAUM, June 2006)
The locomotive fleet in and around New Haven, Connecticut includes line-haul freight, commuter, intercity rail, and switch locomotives. To better characterize pollution from locomotives operating in and around New Haven, NESCAUM has developed a preliminary inventory of locomotive emissions in the New Haven area, and has evaluated potential control options to reduce locomotive pollution. This report presents the findings of this work and focuses on emissions in New Haven and Fairfield since most of the rail activity in Connecticut takes place in these two densely populated counties.
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Smartway Transport Partnership
To bring SmartWay Transport Partnership tools and technologies to fleet managers, EPA NE cosponsored a Fuel-Saving Equipment Showcase with the Massachusetts Motor Transportation Association (MMTA) on June 15-16 2007 in Marlborough MA. MMTA is a SmartWay affiliate partner, and invited EPA NE to hold the Showcase as part of their Annual Meeting and Truck Show. The Showcase consisted of a seminar and a vendor "pavilion" exhibiting fuel-saving devices like auxiliary power units and automatic tire inflation systems, plus a lender offering SBA-backed SmartWay loans. The Seminar featured national representatives from EPA's SmartWay program speaking on how the partnership program and featured technologies work, and on EPA's new Grow and Go (biodiesel) program. The seminar also featured representatives from three SmartWay partner trucking companies speaking on their successes in saving fuel and money while reducing emissions. For more information, see the presentations below, and contact Abby Swaine at 617-918-1841 or swaine.abby@epa.gov
Fuel-Saving Equipment Showcase:
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Agenda and Showcase Products with speaker and vendor contact information.
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Welcome and Intro
Abby Swaine, Diesel Idling Initiative, EPA New England
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SmartWay Partnership
Pepper Santalucia, Senior Associate, ICF International
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SmartWay Technologies
Cheryl Bynum, Senior Program Analyst, EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, Ann Arbor MI
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SmartWay from the Partner’s Perspective: Con-way Freight
Mike Grima, Director of Maintenance, Con-way Freight Central, Ann Arbor MI
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SmartWay from the Partner’s Perspective: Braun's Express
Bill Borek, Operations and Safety Director, Braun’s Express, Hopedale MA
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SmartWay Grow & Go: Biodiesel
Cheryl Bynum, Senior Program Analyst, EPA National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, Ann Arbor MI
The SmartWaySM Transport Partnership is a voluntary collaboration between US EPA and the freight industry designed to conserve fuel while significantly reducing greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. The following companies based in the Northeast are among those that have joined the SmartWay partnership. For more information about SmartWay partners and program contacts in the Northeast, go to http://www.epa.gov/smartway/whereyoulive.htm
Hannaford Trucking Company
Hannaford Trucking Company (Hannaford), a subsidiary of Hannaford Bros. Co., enrolled their private delivery fleet of 101 tractors and 370 trailers in the SmartWay program in 2005. They provide retail delivery service to the 158 Hannaford Supermarkets in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, and work out of three distribution centers, located in South Portland, ME, Winthrop, ME, and Schodack Landing, NY. In 2005 alone, Hannaford reduced emissions of carbon dioxide by 8,657 tons, particulate matter by 1.6 tons, and nitrogen oxides by 59.5 tons, and saved over 115,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Hannaford has and continues to achieve such success through a variety of equipment upgrades and changes, idle-reduction strategies and driver education. For more information on Hannaford's SmartWay efforts, click here »
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Green Mountain) transports about 20 million pounds of coffee annually all over the United States. Ethics and a commitment to social responsibility are two of Green Mountain’s guiding principles, and examining the environmental impacts of their decisions is an important part of how the company functions. Two years ago, after analyzing the fuel efficiency of their fleet, Green Mountain found that idling times were very high. In an effort to lower these times, and after considerable research, Green Mountain enrolled their fleet of 22 trucks in the SmartWay program in the spring of 2005. For more information on Green Mountain's SmartWay efforts, click here »
RFX Companies
RFX, Inc. and Refrigerated Food Express, Inc. are separate businesses that together make up “The RFX Companies.” Each participates in the SmartWay Transport Partnership. RFX, Inc. (RFX) is a non-asset based third-party logistics company, meaning it owns no equipment, but organizes distribution for shipping companies. Refrigerated Food Express, Inc. (REFE) is an asset-based common and contract motor carrier, hauling for-hire loads for either the general public or under contract with specific companies. REFE owns about 100 refrigerated trailers but no tractors, so they utilize truck owner/operators as their drivers. For more information on RFX's SmartWay efforts, click here >>
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Small Business Administration's Express Loan Program
The Small Business Express Loan is available for EPA SmartWay technology upgrades for trucks from any US state. This financing is part of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Express Loan Program. The interest rate is based on your credit score, but can be no more than prime plus 6.5%. This is an unsecured loan that is simple to apply for. The pre-approval process can be completed in a few minutes. The formal approval is usually 3-4 days. There is no down payment required and the repayment can be over a period of up to 10 years.
For New York/New Jersey residents only: ACCION is a non-profit financial institution that provides loans up to $50,000. Contact the Credit Specialist team, New York Loan Inquires: (212) 387-0494, via e-mail at loans@accionnewyork.org; New Jersey Loan Inquiries: 1-866-5ACCION (1-866-522-2466).
Superior Financial Group: Offers a one-page prequalification form on their web page. Once at their web page, enter the pass code: 1234. Or, call (877) 675-0500. For general information contact: Michael Ermi, 800-324-3486, e-mail: mermi@superiorfg.com (SBA Program).
Lease Corporation of America: Specializes in financing owner operators and small fleets. For financing information call 800.800.8098. For general information contact Dan Worsley, 800.800.8098 (ext. 5172); e-mail: dworsley@leasecorp.com; or Brigid Bedient, 800.800.8098 (ext. 5182); e-mail: bbedient@leasecorp.com
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