Truck body applications are challenging for any material. Trucks operate in a brutal environment, often logging 60,000 miles per year and reaching 750,000 miles over their lifetime. Total weight is limited, so every pound saved yields a pound of payload, and fuel efficiency both determines profit levels and must meet ever-tighter environmental mandates. A tough environment - but one where extrusion shines.
Extrusions for Reduction Requirements
The EPA announced their first-ever mileage standards for commercial vehicles in August 2011, prompting Class 8 truck builders to expand their use of aluminum beyond the then-average of 1,000 pounds/tractor in an effort to meet a 20% reduction in both fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 2018. Phase 2 mileage standards call for a similar reduction by 2027
The effect of such an improvement?
An estimated 530 million barrels of fuel were saved and 270 million metric tons of greenhouse gas were avoided over the life of the improved vehicles. In finalizing the new commercial vehicle fuel efficiency regulations, EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration evaluated alternative materials as a means of mass reduction. The conclusion: aluminum's potential to reduce mass was far beyond that of alternative materials.
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