FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 30, 2007

Contact: Mike Tunnell

(916) 300-3161

ATRI RELEASES STUDY ON USE OF

FUEL SAVING/EMISSIONS REDUCING TECHNOLOGIES

ARLINGTON, VA ? The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today released results of a survey investigating use of fuel saving/emissions reducing technologies (FSERTs) among truck owners in the Baltimore, Maryland region.  ATRI conducted the survey in cooperation with the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) to help gauge interest in these technologies as well as potential financial incentives to assist with their deployment.

ATRI contacted businesses operating diesel trucks in the Baltimore region to learn about current and planned use of FSERTs ? which include automatic tire inflation systems, single-wide tires, diesel particulate filters and other technologies ? as well as factors influencing the use of these technologies.  Interest in these technologies should incentives become available was also investigated.

The percentage of respondents using various types of FSERTs ranged from 3 to 14 percent while the number of trucks and/or trailers equipped with a particular technology ranged from 23 to more than 1,000.  Factors which were identified as potentially influencing the use of FSERTs included knowledge of EPA?s SmartWay Partnership, total annual revenues, type of business, and total number of trucks operated.

Planned use of FSERTs was similar to current use in terms of percentage of respondents planning use, number of trucks and/or trailers to be equipped, and potential factors influencing usage.  Businesses currently using FSERTs were much more likely to plan FSERT installations within the next 5 years than those businesses not using these technologies.

When the prospect of financial incentives to reduce the cost of FSERTs was presented, interest in these technologies more than tripled from planned usage levels.  In addition, a strong interest was expressed by businesses not currently using these technologies.  This interest points towards the potential to expand FSERT use through incentives, especially since current users tend to plan future use.  Tax credits and grants were identified as the most helpful forms of incentives.

For a copy of the final report, which includes the survey results as well as descriptions of the various technologies and incentive programs investigated, please visit the Research Results ? Environmental Factors section on ATRI?s website at www.atri-online.org.

ATRI is the trucking industry?s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization.  It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation?s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.