NACFE Releases Initial Findings From Run on Less – Messy Middle

From Executive Director Mike Roeth

We’ve just completed our fifth Run on Less event — Run on Less – Messy Middle. It started on September 8 and ran for 18 days during which we tracked 13 trucks with different powertrains as they went about their normal day-to-day routes. We published their performance on our metrics dashboard so everyone who wanted could track the performance of one or more trucks.

And while we are currently working on our initial findings, which we plan to share later this month, I can share one thing with you now. Fleets are making the best of the technologies available to them today. They are pushing range limits and hauling heavy in order to test the capabilities of these alternative fuel powertrains. And they are doing this knowing that the powertrain they choose today may not be the powertrain that is right for them in the future.

The Run served as a reminder that trucking is all about getting goods delivered and even when faced with challenges, fleets still figure out how to get us the stuff we want and need. Sometimes it’s not easy, like when regulations change or incentives disappear, but still trucking perseveres and continues to focus on how to be more efficient while also decreasing its impact on the environment.

We are beginning to work on the first report from the Run, which focuses on the details of how we conduct the Run.

We also are planning another one of our “data potlucks.” Similar to what we did with the data from Run on Less – Electric DEPOT, we plan to assemble a group of data loving folks and ask them to share their take on what the data is telling them. After the data has been analyzed, we will publish a report that explains what the data means and offer recommendations for next steps for fleets, OEMs and others in the industry.

Our goal with this Run was to bring clarity to long-haul trucking. And we are wondering how we did. Click here to answer a couple questions for us. The results of the survey will be published in the November newsletter.

We certainly now know more about the four powertrains we featured in the Run, and I suspect for some that additional knowledge will make things clearer, but for others more information may just add to the mess.

We will continue to mine data from the Run including what we learned at site visits and what the metrics showed us. While the Run itself is done, we will continue to share our learnings with the industry through the middle of 2026 when, believe it or not, it will time to start thinking about the next Run. If you have suggestions for the 2027 Run, be sure to let me know!