Producers Roll Out New Models as Fleets Eye Lighter, Tougher Units
By Mindy Long, Special to Transport Topics
This story appears in the March 8 print edition of Transport Topics.
The drive by trucking companies to become more efficient is reshaping the trailer manufacturing industry.
Fleets are keeping their trailers longer and seeking models that are of lighter weight and more durable when they do look for replacements, industry executives have said.
“Customers are looking for the most versatile vehicle they can utilize,” said Steve Zaborowski, senior vice president of trailer leasing firm Xtra Lease, St. Louis. “They’re looking for a vehicle that is light enough to carry heavy payloads one way and haul high-cube cargo the other way.”
To maximize payload and overcome the tractor weight added by the new emissions technology, trailer manufacturers also are working with lighter-weight materials.
“The smart operators are all trying to buy the lightest equipment they can, so when they haul high-density freight, they can get more on legally,” said Craig Bennett, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co., City of Industry, Calif.
Last year, Utility introduced its 4000D-X Composite trailer, which Bennett said “is a lighter, stronger design that has a complete metal skeletal structure.”
Using a polyurethane-foam composite instead of polyethylene knocks 400 to 500 pounds off Utility’s trailer, compared with other composite trailers, Bennett said.
Manac Trailer USA Inc., Oran, Mo., has introduced seven new models in the past year, including an auto-hauler trailer that can be transformed into a flatbed and a dump trailer that unloads curbside instead of from a tailgate.
“It is challenging because there is no Swiss Army knife of trailers. However, we have come out with designs that have a good opportunity for backhaul,” said Keith Limback, Manac’s general sales manager.
Along the same lines, Fontaine Trailer Co. said its Infinity TX combines a drop-deck trailer with a twist-lock trailer to haul intermodal shipping containers. A locking mechanism in the trailer’s floor can be attached to the bottom of an intermodal container with a twisting motion, securing it without straps or chains.
Attempts to reach Hyundai Translead and Great Dane Trailers for this story were not successful.
Xtra’s Zaborowski said composite sidewalls are gaining popularity because they offer more internal space. “It enables you to have 101.5 inches of inside width and allows you to virtually eliminate inside damage,” he said.
Manac’s UltraPlate dry van uses a composite plate material for the sidewall that takes up less space than the traditional sheet and post design.
“That allows for two additional pallets every load,” Limback said.
In February, Fontaine Trailer, Haleyville, Ala., introduced the Fontaine Revolution Hybrid Dropdeck trailer, which weighs 9,300 pounds — about 1,000 pounds lighter than a similar trailer. The new trailer uses 234 smaller cross members built into the floor rather than the 48 cross members that sit under the floor on a standard trailer.
“You’re not only lighter, you’re stronger, too,” said Henry Prochazka, vice president of sales for Fontaine.
Zaborowski noted that the weight of flatbed trailers has been reduced by nearly 2,000 pounds in recent years as manufacturers transition to lighter, high-tensile steel.
In addition to wanting lighter trailers, fleets are looking for them to last longer than ever before.
An executive with New World Van Lines said that firm keeps trailers for about 20 years and renovates them after about 10 years.
“Our biggest problem with trailers is corrosion from road salt and the [magnesium] chloride,” said Greg Walsh, director of maintenance for New World. “We’ve been changing materials and testing different types of undercoatings.”
To combat corrosion, manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers are offering special coatings and materials to provide extra durability.
Jim Jannell, U.S. sales manager for trailer floor manufacturer Prolam, said the need to extend trailer life has driven sales of the company’s polyurethane reactive coating that provides abrasion resistance on the underside of the trailer. Prolam, based in Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec, also offers a wax coating to protect the top of the floor.
“The biggest enemy to the hardwood trailer floor is moisture,” said Jannell, based in North Attleboro, Mass., “If you protect the wood, you are going to protect the life of the trailer.”
Havco Wood Products LLC, Cape Girardeau, Mo., manufactures oak floors with a composite sheet to maximize floor strength.
“In the last several years, we’ve seen a real acceleration and increased demand [for] the floor as people are trying to produce trailers that are lighter weight and last in excess of 10 years,” said Havco President Bruce Bader.
Havco’s floors “can haul general freight or heavy loads like paper and beverages,” he said. The floor can shave at least 250 to 400 pounds off the trailer, according to company information.
Pat Griffin, vice president of engineering services for trailer maker Wabash National Corp., Lafayette, Ind., said the most frequent request from fleets is increased floor load capacity.
As a result, Wabash will introduce new construction “in the near future” that will exceed traditional concentrated load ratings in dry vans, he said.
At the same time, Wabash is working to remove weight from flooring systems. New technologies could cut floor weight by 25%, the company said.
Fuel efficiency also has grown in importance for fleets because of rising prices and additional regulations. Zaborowski said he expects to see options such as trailer side skirts to continue to gain popularity.
The California Air Resources Board introduced a new regulation in 2009 requiring side skirts and low rolling-resistance tires. CARB also has mandated that refrigerated trailers cannot be more than seven years old.
“The reefer legislation out of CARB is a gift that is going to continue to keep on giving, as far as trailer sales in the reefer van market,” Kenny Vieth, partner and senior analyst with ACT Research Co. LLC, Columbus, Ind., told Transport Topics. “CARB has said your trade cycle is seven years, where it might have been longer, historically.”
Refrigerated carrier C.R. England Inc. operates about 5,200 refrigerated trailers and 300 dry vans. The company already has embraced a seven-year trade cycle on reefers, so the CARB regulations won’t change how England, Salt Lake City, purchases trailers — but it has changed how the fleet sells them.
“The value of our used trailers has diminished greatly because of the CARB requirements,” said Todd England, executive vice president of maintenance for the fleet.
To comply with CARB regulations and maximize efficiency, all new C.R. England trailers will have side skirts.
“This really makes sense. We’ve documented 1% to 1.5% fuel-economy improvements, based on our tests,” England said.
Utility Trailer said it offers two side skirts, both EPA SmartWay-certified, to save 4% to 5% in fuel. “We have over 1,000 orders for trailers with side skirts today,” said Utility’s Bennett. “Demand for side skirts is very strong because we’re in California.”
Similarly, Wabash offers the DuraPlate AeroSkirt that has been SmartWay-certified to improve fuel efficiency by 6%.
ThermoKing Corp., Minneapolis, also is removing weight from its refrigeration units, cutting 12 pounds over the past year.
“The less weight we can have, the better,” said Tom Kampf, ThermoKing’s trailer product manager. “There is no low-hanging fruit, but we continue to take out a pound here or there.”
Meanwhile, Whiting Door Manufacturing Corp. is looking to increase driver efficiency with its automatic rear-door opener for trailers. With the push of a button, a driver can begin opening the trailer’s rear door from the cab and have it fully open by the time he or she reaches the trailer.
Interest in the product is beginning to increase, said Chuck Oakes, corporate director of sales for Whiting, Akron, N.Y.
“With the economy, it is hard to introduce a product that comes with a cost,” Oakes said. The door-opener unit weighs about 80 pounds and costs between $2,500 and $3,000.
Similarly, Fred Andersky, director of marketing control for Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, Elyria, Ohio, said fleets are inquiring about roll-stability systems for trailers, but sales were flat in 2009.
“It isn’t that safety isn’t important to fleets,” Andersky said, “but economic decisions come into play, and some options just don’t get picked up in the purchase.”
Bendix has found fleets can increase stability by 4% to 6% when both the tractor and trailer have a stability system.
For some trailer manufacturers, however, there is a silver lining to the difficult economy.
“When the economy gets bad, there is more time to think and be creative,” said Nancy Westerlund, vice president of sales and marketing for International Specialized Trailer Manufacturing, Litchfield, Minn.
