The amount of aluminum in heavier commercial vehicles is not only increasing, but also spreading across market segments and application types. Such greater use is due to cost and fuel benefits that lightweight aluminum manufacturers claim to offer.Talk about aluminum lightweight-ing of vehicles tends to center on passenger cars and light trucks. However, aluminum has experienced more than 30 years of continual growth in commercial applications, driven largely by payload considerations.The use of aluminum applications in commercial vehicles continues to rise steadily, with more than 65 percent of the tractor-trailer market adopting aluminum wheels today compared with 60 years ago, for example. The average Class 8 truck today uses more than 1,000 pounds of aluminum, and with additional emerging applications, vehicle weight could be reduced by up to 3,300 pounds. By exploring the advantages of lightweighting with aluminum, truck owners and operators can experience the real value and benefits a lighter vehicle has to offer, aluminum industry advocates say.
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