As a bellweather of the economy, it’s difficult to beat the trucking industry.

Not only are the nation’s rigs at the mercy of fuel prices as much or more than just about any other industry, but because trucks haul so many of the country’s consumer goods, they’re the first to know when Americans have slowed their spending.

It’s been a tough year for the big rigs. First it was soaring gasoline prices. And now that there’s some long-awaited relief at the pump, business is down.

“It’s very soft, and this is the time of year that’s normally our busiest,” as retailers gear up for the holiday season, said Ray Kuntz, president of Watkins and Shepard Trucking. “People are just not gearing up for extra inventory.”

The firm, with head offices in both Missoula and Helena, has some 1,000 employees and around 700 trucks on the road. Not content to watch an increasing amount of dollars disappear into the fleet’s diesel fuel tanks, the company undertook an ambitious effort to increase its fuel economy.

The result was an improvement of one mile per gallon from 2006 to 2007. Now, raising the fuel economy from 5.7 miles per gallon to 6.7 miles per gallon may not sound like much. But when you realize the company’s trucks drove 52.2 million miles last year, the gallons quickly add up — to the tune of some 1.3 million gallons saved last year.

In recognition of its conservation efforts, Watkins and Shepard recently received a SmartWay Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, applauding the company’s efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

Company officials cited several changes that helped them improve the company’s fuel performance. Auxiliary power units allow drivers to turn their trucks off for the night and still be comfortable in the cabs, reducing idling time. Several trucks have been fitted with “super single” tires, heavy-duty tires that take the place of the side-by-side radials most common on 18-wheelers, and offer less resistance at cruising speeds.

But perhaps most importantly, the company went straight to the source, asking its drivers what they could do to save diesel. Drivers who showed better fuel performance were quizzed about their driving habits and encouraged to share tips with their colleagues.

Curt Weidner, the company’s director of analysis, said Watkins and Shepard overhauled its bonus system to award drivers who meet efficiency standards.

“There are some expectations for fuel efficiency, for miles per gallon, for stopping where we tell you to stop to buy fuel,” Weidner said.

Weidner said that most of the common techniques for getting better mileage in passenger cars apply to big rigs as well.

“The simplest one is slowing down,” he said. The company’s trucks are all governed to top out at 65 miles per hour, but Weidner said every mile per hour slower than that saves a tenth of a mile per gallon. So if there’s time to make a delivery at a speed below 65, drivers are told to ease off the gas.

Kuntz, who recently wrapped up a term as chairman of the American Trucking Association, estimated that half the savings realized by Watkins and Shepard came from ideas from the drivers.

“We didn’t set out to win the award,” he said. “We set out to try and cut back our fuel consumption.”

Despite the slow economy, Kuntz is encouraged by the recent drop in gas prices. Fuel has fallen below $3 a gallon for the first time since early this year, down more than a dollar from this summer’s peak. With oil in the $70 range per barrel, Kuntz believes gas still has farther to fall.

“If it gets to $2.50 or $2.60, that will be a big psychological boost for all of us,” he said. “And that puts a lot of extra cash into people’s pockets.”

Reporter John Harrington: 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.