Nearly 20 fleets operating more than 71,844 tractors and 236,292 trailers saved over $600 million in 2017 compared to the average trucks on the road, according to a study released by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE).

That’s because these fleets adopted a variety of fuel-efficiency technologies, as outlined in the “2018 Annual Fleet Fuel Study.”

Combined, these fleets reached an average fuel economy of 7.28 mpg compared to the average U.S. fleet number of 5.91 mpg. This was a 2% increase over 2017, and represents a return to the 2% 8-year average gain.

The overall adoption rate for the 85 technologies studied in this report has grown from 17% in 2003 to 44% in 2017. Not all technologies could be applied to a single tractor-trailer, as some are clearly an either-or decision.

For the first time since the study’s inception, the NACFE team sought data from other organizations involved in Class 8 tractor-trailer efficiency. All four studies show a solid increase in fuel efficiency over the past 8 years.

Fleets that participated in the study shared their implementation experiences as well as best practices for using these technologies. The study provides insights to help other fleets make decisions about adding these fuel-efficiency technologies and practices in the future.