FedEx Exceeds Vehicle Fleet Fuel Efficiency Goal With Holistic Strategy

Back in 2008, FedEx Corp. set an ambitious goal of improving fuel efficiency in its fleet of FedEx Express Global vehicles by 20 percent in twelve years. With the deadline year of 2020 still far in the future, the company has reported that it has not only met but beaten its vehicle fleet fuel efficiency goal with an overall savings of 22 percent.

The achievement is impressive enough on its own, and it’s especially noteworthy for two reasons. First, because the company has taken a chance on an aggressive strategy that embraces new technologies along with other tactics and second, because the company has established itself as a role model and leader for improving fleet fuel efficiency through its affiliation with the Obama Administration’s Clean Fleets public-private partnership.

As described by Dennis Beal, Vice President of Global Vehicles for FedEx Express, the strategy approaches vehicle fleet efficiency from three angles: Reduce, Replace, and Revolutionize.

One key advantage that FedEx has had, compared to just a few years ago, is the advent of advanced electric vehicles and other new vehicle technologies, which gives fleet managers a greater range of options to choose from. In fact, the company realized its single largest source of savings by systematically matching the right vehicle to each route.

By the end of fiscal year 2013, the company expects to have a total of 360 hybrid-electric vehicles and 200 electric vehicles in service. The company has also been replacing delivery trucks with "right-sized" Sprinter-type vans that are 70 to 100 percent more fuel efficient, and it is introducing lightweight Reach vans that save 35 percent compared to standard walk-in vans. They have also been converting its FedEx Express diesel fleet to cleaner models that comply with 2010 federal emission standards, and have been introducing alternative fuels and improved efficiencies into the FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground divisions as well.

As demonstrated by the carrier, vehicle fleet efficiency represents one of the low-hanging fruits of energy conservation, especially for larger companies where economies of scale accelerate the payback period.

In 2011 the Obama Administration launched the Clean Fleets Partnership to help establish best practices models for other fleet-intensive companies to follow. FedEx was one of only five corporate partners selected to kick off Clean Fleets, along with AT&T, PepsiCo, UPS and Verizon. A few months later they were joined by Coca-Cola, Enterprise Holdings, General Electric, OSRAM SYLVANIA, Ryder, and Staples.

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