Carrier Panel Shows Differing Views on LNG, CNG Fuel Choices
DALLAS — Several trucking executives gave their reasons for changing some of their fleet operations to either compressed or liquefied natural gas, and said they were backers of the alternative fuels for reasons ranging from economic to sustainability.
The executives spoke in a panel discussion as part of a May 6 session on goods movement in longhaul trucking at the ACT Expo here.
Stephen Silverman, chief operating officer for Jacksonville, Florida-based Raven Transport, said he has rolled in 181 LNG-fueled trucks and is aiming to convert the company's entire 500-truck fleet to LNG by the end of 2017.
Raven’s trucks have an almost 1,100-mile range, and the carrier went to LNG because “we can’t get mileage out of CNG unless we put extra tanks on the equipment,” which adds about 2,200 pounds to a truck’s payload, Silverman said.
Quebec-based Canadian American Transport started looking at natural gas in 2008 and is set to lease 100 CNG-fueled trucks from Ryder System beginning in September to run in both the United States and Canada, company president Daniel Goyette said.
The panel’s moderator, Bill Zobel from Trillium CNG, asked panelists if they had a “wish list” for natural gas going forward.
Scott Lavery, West region vice president of fleet maintenance and operations for UPS Inc., said he would like to see more choices in drivetrain availability, including larger CNG or LNG engines as well as high-pressure direct injection models.
“That would take us into more avenues for both LNG and CNG,” Lavery said.
