Normandin Transit of Quebec focuses on aerodynamics and fuel-saving techniques for its fleet of 250 trucks and 500 trailers that covers the United States and Canada. To boost fuel economy, the company uses trailer skirts and APUs to reduce idling and outfits trucks with wide-single tires, such as those on this Kenworth T660, one of three the company recently spec’d for its aerodynamic features.

Next time you’re rolling down the road at 65 mph, stick your arm out the window. Hold your arm straight up and feel the wind pushing against it, then lower your arm and feel the resistance disappear. That gives you an idea of the dynamic at work between your truck and the air.

At 55 mph, half the energy generated by your truck is devoted to moving air around your vehicle. Speed up to 65 and two-thirds of the energy at your disposal is required to slice through air. The bottom line is the more you make aerodynamics work for you, the less you have to fight the wind and the less fuel you have to burn.

Aerodynamics is an industry buzzword these days. Truck manufacturers are incorporating aero-consciousness into the styling of their newest models and beefing up education for their customers. For example, Volvo Trucks North America recently launched Fuelwatch as a means to help owner-operators and fleet managers achieve maximum fuel economy through proper specs, maintenance, monitoring and driver development.

Everyone’s paying attention, of course, as fuel costs soar. For instance, the last three trucks bought by Normandin Transit of Napierville, Quebec, were new Kenworth T660s, a more aerodynamic update to the manufacturer’s classically aero T600. A 2006 study by the Truck Manufacturers Association and the U.S. Department of Energy concluded that performing a wide range of aerodynamic improvements on a single vehicle could achieve a 23-percent reduction in aero drag, or more than 11 percent in increased fuel economy. In the unlikely event that every tractor/van semi-trailer combination adopted these technologies and boosted fuel economy by 10 percent, the industry could achieve fuel savings of about one billion gallons per year.

“With an aerodynamic truck, when you start adding all those features up, you could be looking at 30- to 40-percent difference in aerodynamic drag,” says Ron Schoon, chief engineer for aerodynamics at Navistar.