Ann Arbor-based Con-way Freight, a cargo transportation company, has purchased 875 new Daimler Freightliner tractors that are equipped with crash avoidance technologies and aerodynamic packages to improve fuel economy and replace older units.
"The new power units will provide greater fuel efficiency, as they are designed with better emission controls and features,” says Tim Killilee, senior director of maintenance at Con-way Freight. "We also are investing in safety, as these tractors are factory equipped with an in-cab suite of safety technologies that's unrivaled in the industry.”
Killilee says the company is taking delivery of about 450 of Freightliner's Class 8 Cascadia model, which will be used in line-haul operations. The remaining deliveries will be the Freightliner M2 model, a Class 7 tractor to be used in city pickup and delivery service. Con-way Freight will also add nearly 1,800 trailers to its fleet this year, built by its sister company, Con-way Manufacturing.
He says the new trucks have driver alert and crash avoidance technologies, including adaptive radar for front collision avoidance, lane departure warning, and rollover stability control systems. The collision avoidance technology uses forward-looking radar to gauge the distance between the truck and vehicle ahead. As the truck approaches a vehicle, the system issues an auditory alert and automatically slows the truck.
The company operates 8,750 tractors with 20,000 28-foot trailers and 6,000 longer-wheelbase city trailers. Con-way Freight offers freight transportation across North America.
