Award Recipients are Top Environmental Performers and Leaders for Freight Supply Chain Efficiency
Artur Express was honored with a SmartWay® Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a true industry leader in freight supply chain environmental performance and energy efficiency. Artur Express adopted the Driver Habits program to save fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and generate $1,969,252.71 million in savings.
“Artur Express considers itself a technology-forward company. For any trucking company, fuel is one of the biggest expenses,” Artur Express President Tom Tokarczyk. “While searching for way to reduce overhead, we knew we needed to look to — not only common industry solutions, such as trailer tails and skirts — but to technology that monitors our trucks’ idle time, throttle, cruise control, braking, and speed metrics that affect overall fuel consumption both at the fleet and at the singular truck level.”
Once the technology was in place, we created the Driver Relations department to monitor the data. The data showed us our driver’s driving habits have the greatest impact on fuel consumption. The Driver Relations department works directly with each driver to coach them on better driving habits, such as using cruise control; cutting down on idle time; slowing down their speed; etc.
Based on the data, we were then able to break out drivers into four categories: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum — Bronze being the worst fuel consumers and Platinum being the best fuel savers. We implemented a bonus pay structure to incentivize good driving habits that reduce fuel consumption.
Our Platinum drivers average 8.0 mpg while our Bronze drivers average 7.3 mpg. Our Platinum drivers are saving the company $.04 per mile — equating to $20,220.00 in savings per truck, per year. We currently have 36 drivers at the Platinum level who will collectively save the company $727,920 in 2021.
“When we first introduced the program, we our fleet’s fuel average was 6.9 mpg. Today, our fleet average is 7.5 mpg. We project this will save our company $1,969,252.17 million in its first year,” said Director of Customer Accounts and Pricing Cory Vera. “These savings have allowed us to reinvest in our drivers to incentivize them to practice better driving habits to lower overall fuel consumption.”
Artur Express was one of 62 truck and multimodal carriers to receive this distinction, representing the best environmental performers of SmartWay’s nearly 4,000 Partners. This year’s awards were announced at a virtual press event hosted by the EPA with its SmartWay Partners, key stakeholders and media in attendance.
“For 17 years the SmartWay Transport Partnership has worked together with stakeholders in the freight industry to find innovative ways to reduce pollution from goods movement.” said Sarah Dunham, Director of EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, “We commend the innovation, drive, and collaborative spirit of our partners whose efforts are helping to meet the challenge of climate change and to create a healthier environment for us all.”
About Artur Express
Founded in 1998, Artur Express, Inc., is a full-service, nationwide transportation and logistics company headquartered in Hazelwood, MO. With over 900 drivers and 3,000 trailers, we provide guaranteed on-time coverage from coast to coast with safe and professional drivers.
About SmartWay
EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership is a market-driven initiative that empowers businesses to move goods in the cleanest, most energy-efficient way possible, while protecting public health and reducing air pollution. Demonstrating a commitment to corporate sustainability and social responsibility through SmartWay provides for a more competitive business environment, while enabling partners to make freight decisions that have a positive impact on efficiency and the environment.
Since 2004, SmartWay Partners have avoided emitting more than 143 million metric tons of CO2, 2.7 million tons NOX, and 112,000 tons PM, while saving $44.8 billion in fuel costs and 335 million barrels of oil — equivalent to eliminating annual energy use in over 21 million homes.
For more information on SmartWay, please visit: www.epa.gov/smartway/
For more information about the SmartWay Excellence Awards, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/smartway/smartway-excellence-awardees
