Con-way Freight to Deploy Trailer Skirts to Improve Fuel Efficiency, Reduce Carbon Footprint

Working with Wabash National, the less-than-truckload company will outfit 16,000 trailers with SmartWay® approved aerodynamic panels as part of its commitment to sustainability.

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Con-way Freight

Apr 10, 2014, 09:10 ET

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier and subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), today announced it is outfitting its line haul trailer fleet with DuraPlate^® AeroSkirts^® to increase overall fleet fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

Commonly known as "trailer skirts," the DuraPlate AeroSkirt was developed by Wabash Composites, a division of Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC). The specially designed DuraPlate AeroSkirts improve trailer aerodynamics, reducing wind drag and contributing to improved fuel economy and trailer stability.

"Enhancing environmental sustainability, reducing operating costs and improving safety don't have to be mutually exclusive goals," explained Tom Clark, senior vice president, operations for Con-way Freight. "We continually look to invest in technologies and adopt business practices that can accomplish these objectives. The addition of the DuraPlate AeroSkirt to our line haul trailers will help improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, as well as improve trailer stability which will make our equipment safer for our drivers and the motoring public."

Con-way Freight has contracted with Wabash to retrofit some 16,000 trailers used in the company's line-haul operations. Installation of the skirts began earlier this year and is expected to be completed by August. Combined with the company's other fuel-savings initiatives and technologies, the addition of the trailer skirts is expected to help reduce fleet carbon emissions by some 80 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

"We continually look for opportunities to help fleets lower their total cost of ownership," said James Scarcelli, vice president and general manager, Wabash Composites. "As a leader in trailer aerodynamics with more than 100,000 DuraPlate AeroSkirts built and sold, our expertise translates into aerodynamic products that provide the greatest combination of durability and fuel efficiency, while contributing to reduced carbon emissions. Our team is looking forward to our new partnership with Con-way Freight and applying our past success to this 2014 installation project."

The EPA SmartWay^® approved DuraPlate AeroSkirt is a durable aerodynamic solution for over-the-road trailers. Its proven structural composite material, DuraPlate, consists of two external steel skins thermally bonded to a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) core, for superior strength that resists damage. A proprietary spring-bracket design allows for inboard and outboard deflection, to further resist potential impact damage, leading to longer service life.

Con-way Freight is a SmartWay approved carrier and a winner of the 2013 SmartWay Excellence Award.

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Con-way equipment images are available at www.con-way.com/en/about_con_way/newsroom

About Wabash National Corporation
Headquartered in Lafayette, Ind., Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC) is a diversified industrial manufacturer and North America's leading producer of semi trailers and liquid transportation systems. Established in 1985, the company specializes in the design and production of dry freight vans, refrigerated vans, platform trailers, liquid tank trailers, intermodal equipment, engineered products and composite products. Its innovative products are sold under the following brand names: Wabash National®, Transcraft®, Benson®, DuraPlate®, Walker Transport, Walker Defense Group, Walker Barrier Systems, Walker Engineered Products, Brenner® Tank, Beall®, Garsite, Progress Tank, TST®, Bulk Tank International and Extract Technology®. To learn more, visit www.wabashnational.com.

About Con-way Freight
Con-way Freight is the industry's leading less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation company, providing guaranteed, day-definite regional and transcontinental service with exception-free delivery, on-time service performance and faster transit times through a single, unified network of 425 operating locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Con-way Freight offers LTL freight transportation across North America and through Global LTL™ delivery in the United States from around the world. Global solutions include international less-than-container load (LCL) ocean shipments from Asia through its OceanGuaranteed^® service; direct service to more than 30 Bahamian and Caribbean ports through TropicalDirect^SM; and domestic offshore transportation to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Con-way Freight is a certified FAST highway carrier and is C-TPAT/PIP-, ACE- and CSA-certified.

Con-way Freight is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $5.5 billion diversified freight transportation and logistics services company. For more information, visit www.con-way.com/en/freight.

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SOURCE Con-way Freight