NACFE to Hold ‘Messy Middle’ Testing in September
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The North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s latest program in its Run on Less demonstration initiative will take place in September and be known as Run on Less — Messy Middle, it said Jan. 7.
The messy middle refers to the wide range of technologies entering the market with the goal of curtailing emissions from trucking operations. In February 2023, NACFE released a report on the messy middle and the challenging decisions facing carrier executives with adoption of these technologies, which include electric and hydrogen fuel-cell power.
The fourth Run on Less program in NACFE’s Run on Less initiative will involve four different powertrain solutions: diesel, natural gas, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cells. Trucks from three different fleets in each of the powertrain categories will be tracked in September.
“We chose to focus this run on the messy middle and specifically on long-haul, return-to-base and over-the-road duty cycles because it is the largest emitting market segment and there is confusion surrounding it,” said NACFE Executive Director Mike Roeth.
“By having trucks with a variety of powertrains, we will be able to capture real-world data and bring some clarity to the long-haul portion of the messy middle,” he added.
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NACFE expects to announce the identities of the fleet participants in spring 2025 and then will visit each of the 12 fleet locations shortly thereafter.
The last Run on Less program took place in September 2023 and focused on electric depot electrification. The program showed the electrification of trucks and chargers for regional haul operations was more realistic than previously believed, Roeth said at the time.
That program included the much-hyped Tesla Semi, capacity production of which has been pushed to the end of 2026, as well as Freightliner’s eCascadia, the electric version of the best-selling Class 8 truck in the U.S.
In March 2024, NACFE produced a confidence report on the options facing carrier executives mulling whether to switch to natural gas engines. Production of Class 8 trucks with factory-installed natural gas power, primarily Cummins’ X15N engine, is already an option from major truck manufacturers, including Paccar units Kenworth and Peterbilt.
As carriers looked more closely at their balance sheets during the latest freight downturn, fuel economy improved in 2022 and 2023, according to NACFE, even as purchases of tractors with alternative fuel drivetrains continue to disappoint truck makers.
NACFE data, sourced from some of the North American freight industry’s largest carriers, show fleet-wide fuel efficiency averaged 7.77 mpg in 2023, compared with 7.62 mpg in 2022. In 2013 the average was 6.67 mpg.
The overall adoption rate for fuel-saving technologies has grown from 17% in 2003 to 42% in 2023, it said.
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