Wal-Mart Aims to Expand Test of ‘Supercube’ in Canada

This story appears in the Jan. 13 print edition of Transport Topics.

Wal-Mart Canada said it wants to expand its “Supercube” fleet after initial testing found the vehicle’s additional freight capacity reduced transportation costs by 24%.

The Supercube is a cabover tractor that pulls a customized, 60-foot, 6-inch trailer. It also features a dromedary box behind the cab for extra capacity, allowing the vehicle to haul 40% more merchandise than a standard 53-foot tractor-trailer combination, the company said.

The vehicle also trimmed its greenhouse-gas emissions by 14%, the company said.

“We’re very pleased with the results so far,” said Andy Ellis, executive vice president of supply chain and logistics at Wal-Mart Canada. “It’s doing everything that we wanted it to do.”

The company’s findings were based on 100 deliveries with an average distance per trip of 125 miles under an ongoing pilot project approved by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

The test began in February, and Wal-Mart Canada currently has two of the trucks and four of the trailers running in the province.

The retailer said it wants to take the Supercube to other provinces and is looking into potentially using it in its U.S. operations.

Michael Buna, senior transportation manager at Wal-Mart Canada, said the retailer wants to add more Supercube trucks as early as the spring and hopes to introduce the Supercube throughout Canada over the next five years.

“On the long term, we estimate that this truck could be used in up to 40% of our delivery routes,” Buna said in a statement.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s permits allow Interstate Freight Systems Inc., Wal-Mart Canada’s carrier for the test, to operate up to four of the trailers.

Interstate Freight Systems de-clined to comment, deferring instead to Wal-Mart Canada.

Later this year, when the Supercube completes 18 months in operation, the ministry said it will evaluate the longer trailer’s performance and its potential to improve productivity.

The ministry said it will determine “whether to and how to proceed with a further measured rollout of extended semi-trailer operations” based on the results of that evaluation.

Ellis said he hopes the project eventually leads to regulation that would allow the longer trailers.

The Ontario Trucking Association, however, views the Supercube trailer as a specialized piece of equipment rather than a standard vehicle configuration.

“We do not feel this trailer will ever be in widespread use or become the standard trailer of choice,” David Bradley, the group’s CEO, said in a statement.

Prior to the pilot program starting, OTA wanted to ensure that trailer met all performance standards, obtained the proper permits and was subject to a limited trial, Bradley said.

“These conditions were met and the trial is ongoing,” he said.

Bradley said “there are different opinions” on longer trailer lengths, and that his group is “not opposed to productivity enhancements . . . where it makes sense and where safety is not compromised.”

OTA’s current position is that any increase beyond the standard 53-foot maximum length should be subject to a special permit, he said.

In the United States, current regulations would not allow use of the Supercube.

States set their own standards for maximum trailer length, but the Supercube would not be legal in any of them, said Darrin Roth, director of highway operations at American Trucking Associations.

The closest case is Wyoming, which has a 60-foot maximum, Roth said. All states generally permit 53-foot trailers, and 11 allow longer ones.

Wal-Mart Canada’s Ellis said the total length of the Supercube

tractor-trailer is the same as a traditional tractor with a 53-foot trailer, but is designed to maximize the payload within that vehicle length.

By using a cabover, the Supercube frees up more vehicle length for cargo space than would be available with a traditional tractor, he said.

Weight was not a problem for the Supercube because of the relatively low-density freight that Wal-Mart Canada moves, Ellis said.

Wal-Mart Canada developed the Supercube trailer in partnership with Innovative Trailer Design in Mississauga, Ontario. The tractor is a Freightliner Argosy glider kit model.

Buna said the Supercube handles the same as a standard tractor-trailer combination, and feedback from truck drivers has been positive.