Commercial Vehicles: Did You Know?

Use of low weight, high-strength aluminum components allows trucks to carry larger cargo loads without violating weight restrictions on bridges and roadways. Driven largely by these payload considerations, aluminum has experienced over 30 years of continual growth in commercial applications. Additionally, the benefits of lightweighting trucks with aluminum go beyond increased cargo capacity, including improved fuel economy, reduced emissions associated with greenhouse gases, lower maintenance costs, improved durability and higher resale value. Consider:

Environment

• For every ton of aluminum added to a fleet, there is the potential to save 37 tons of CO₂ over the life of the vehicle and 32 lifecycle tons; this equates to the potential to save 50 million tons of CO₂ from a million trucks
  
• Big CO₂ benefits come with every pound of aluminum that replaces steel on a truck; in fact, 18 pounds of CO₂ is saved for every pound of aluminum used
  
• As emissions are proportional to fuel consumption, a 4 percent reduction in fuel consumption results in 4 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions, and 4 percent reduction in particulate system loading
  
• The aluminum industry has staked out a leadership position on CO₂ and has voluntarily cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent since 1990
  
• 73 percent of all aluminum produced since 1888 is still in use today
  
• Aluminum is 100 percent recyclable with no downgrading of its qualities
  
• The re-melting of aluminum requires little energy: only about 5 percent of the energy required to produce the primary metal initially is needed in the recycling process

Growth

• The average Class 8 truck today uses over 1,000 pounds of aluminum, about 4 pounds of total tractor weight. Comparatively, the average aluminum content in light-duty vehicles is currently about 9 pounds

Performance

• A one ton weight reduction in Class 8 Tractor-Trailer can equal up to a 588 gallon fuel savings annually or 3,400 gallons over the lifecycle of the vehicle
  
• On a national level, this equates to 836 million gallons annually totaling $3.3 billion
• Reduced weight means better fuel economy; a 4 pound weight reduction may result in a 2-3 percent reduction in fleet fuel consumptionAluminum naturally generates a protective oxide coating and is highly corrosion resistant
  
• Different types of surface treatment such as anodising, painting or lacquering can further improve this property; it is particularly useful for applications where protection and conservation are required