‘Truck Blue Book’ say Michelin's X One adds value

Sept. 8, 2011

According to the latest assessment by “Truck Blue Book,” Michelin X One wide single truck tires add $1,250 to the value of a used truck as an Idle and Fuel Reduction Technology. The value-added designation is exclusive to X One tires – not for wide single tires in general.

According to Michelin Americas Truck Tires, Michelin X One wide single truck tires have offered the trucking industry 4-10% fuel savings and weight savings of 175-200 pounds per axle for more than 10 years.

“X One tires continue to prove their value to drivers and fleets on tens of thousands of trucks and trailers across America,” says Ted Becker, vice president of marketing for Michelin Americas Truck Tires. “The designation by “Truck Blue Book,” supported by the Used Truck Association, is a clear indication of the growing share these wide single tires are taking in the market and the residual value boost they give to the used trucks in the industry.”

“We strongly considered the factual fuel and weight savings that X One tires provide for a tractor,” says Terry Williams, managing editor for “Truck Blue Book.” “After that, the decision to make them a value-added component was easy. “Truck Blue Book” recognizes value where it exists, and X One tires are valuable on used trucks.”

Michelin announced in late 2010 that its X One fuel-efficient truck tire line was enjoying a banner sales year. The line of wide single truck tires – which includes tires for a variety of applications – reached a significant milestone in 2010, hitting the one-million-tire mark since being launched in 2000.

Since 2000, fleets using X One tires have gained up to 10 percent in fuel efficiency, which has saved more than 80 million gallons of fuel and reduced CO2 emissions by 809,000 metric tons, Michelin notes. Even for a fleet with just 10 trucks, fitting X One tires can mean a potential savings of 15,000 gallons of fuel per year and a reduction of 150 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year – the equivalent of removing 30 cars from the road.

A 383-page report made available by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2009 found significant improvement in fuel efficiency when wide single tires were used instead of dual tires – 6% overall and 10% with fully loaded tractor-trailers. More than 700,000 real-world miles were driven by six instrumented tractors and 10 trailers over the course of the four-year test.