CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT:
Marten Transport Receives CCJ's 2011 Innovator of the Year Award

The Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) selected Marten Transport as its 2011 Innovator of the Year for implementing a practice to save on fuel by raising the temperature of refrigerated trailers.

When Chief Executive Officer Randy Marten noticed that reefer units continued to run while they were on the fueling lane and found out it was because frozen goods are typically transported at -10 degrees Fahrenheit, he began looking for alternatives that would save fuel and maintenance costs.

Executive Vice President Doug Petit researched and found that the standard was developed in the 1930s. Shipments were required to be carried below zero degrees Fahrenheit, but fuel was relatively cheap, so there was no penalty for constantly running a reefer unit. The standard temperature became -10 degrees and it was never challenged.

Petit set up a test run with one truckload set to -10 degrees and another set to -1 degree. The inside temperatures were not affected by the difference and in 11 subsequent tests, the higher temperature saved 200 gallons of diesel fuel and ran 151.4 reefer hours less.

In March 2009, Marten Transport implemented the new temperature throughout its entire fleet and more than 80 percent of its frozen food shipments now use the -1 degree setting. The change has saved Marten more than 130,000 gallons of diesel fuel per quarter at a savings of nearly $400,000 per quarter.

The CCJ also noted that Marten Transport has led the industry through its response to Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) and its proactive maintenance procedures, driver recruitment and retention, asset and fleet management, and use of green technology.

Baldwin & Lyons commends Marten Transport and is proud to insure this resourceful and innovative company.

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