Fleets Say Newest Engines Cost More, but Reliability and Efficiency Are Better

TAMPA, Fla. — Fleet managers said they generally prefer the current generation of U.S. truck engines over 2007-2009 models because of improved fuel economy and reliability, but they also cost more and are more complicated, a new survey found.

Executives from some of the country’s largest fleets gave their assessments of the engines at the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting here. Members of the council, a part of American Trucking Associations, also provided survey information that was discussed on Feb. 23.

“We are paying a very big cost to get the benefits of cleaner air from these changes,” said Steve Duley, a vice president for truckload carrier Schneider National. He said the company’s cost per engine jumped by $4,500 in response to the 2002 technology change, by $8,500 in 2007 and by $10,000 in 2010, for a combined per truck cost of $23,000 from 2001 to 2010.

At UPS Inc., the largest corporation in North American freight transportation, the cost of its average new truck more than doubled from early 2002 — just before the introduction of exhaust gas recirculation technology — to 2010, said maintenance manager Duane Lippincott. However, he did praise the 2010s for their increased miles per gallon and reliability.

The less-than-truckload unit of FedEx Corp. had similar experiences.

“From the 2004 models to the 2007s, we saw a 33% reduction in reliability,” said maintenance specialist Brian Baker of FedEx Freight. “But from the 2007s to the 2010s, we saw a 60% increase in reliability,” he said.

Combining the two changes, there was a 7.2% improvement in reliability from the 2002-2006 generation to the current tractors.

Mandates from the Environmental Protection Agency have played a profound role in shaping diesel engines. The pursuit of lower levels of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions have shaped the generations of technology, panelists said.

U.S. diesel engines on the road today are generally in four groups: 1998-September 2002, October 2002-December 2006, 2007-2009, and 2010 to the present. North American truck operators bought heavily in 2002-2006 in order to avoid those from 2007-2009. Therefore, the disfavored 2007-2009 trucks actually make up a relatively small group.

For the private fleet of HEB Grocery Co., San Antonio, the poor reliability of the 2007 engines has had an effect on driver retention, said manager Mike Moynahan. He said the average tenure for his drivers and technicians is more than 20 years.

“Our drivers think their trucks are really theirs. They’re not leaving for other jobs, but some of them are taking early retirement,” Moynahan said of the drivers frustrated by trucks lacking in durability. From the 2004 generation to the 2007s, Moynahan said, the vehicles produced 8% more work orders.

While the current crop of engines looks better in comparison with the previous generation, there were also some complaints about the 2010 engines.

Schneider’s Duley, one of the first trucking executives to warn about the 2007s, described the 2010 reliability as “below expectations,” before adding, “To be fair to my suppliers, though, we expect perfection.”

Duley said there have been some problems with diesel exhaust fluid in very cold weather, which causes solids to develop. DEF is a commodity needed to run selective catalytic reduction engines, new since 2010. The SCR engines use DEF relative to diesel at a rate of 2% to 3%, he said.

Duley also cited shortages in diesel particulate filter parts, an excessive number of fault codes, 400 more pounds of weight that is not freight and a lag in properly trained technicians. Drivers, though, do “like the power and responsiveness” of the new trucks.

The TMC survey looked at responses from 23 fleets operating a combined total of 157,500 power units, or 6,850 tractors and trucks per fleet.

On the issue of fuel economy, 71% of fleets said the 2010s were better than the 2007s. Comparing the 2007s with the earlier generation, 45.5% said the 2004 trucks were better than the 2007s in miles per gallon. The pattern was similar for engine performance and reliability.

In October 2002, all truck makers started using exhaust gas recirculation technology in their engines to lower NOx levels in accordance with the EPA’s mandate.

In January 2007, there was a second generation of EGR — for more NOx reduction — and the introduction of DPFs for particulate matter reduction.

The January 2010 change brought about SCR for most truck makers, except for Navistar International, which uses a third generation of EGR in its MaxxForce engines.