Mack Tests Clean-Burning Truck in New York City
Mack Trucks may be known as a rugged and tough brand — but that doesn't mean its heavy-duty vehicles can't be a little cleaner.
Last week, Mack Trucks began testing the performance of a Dimethyl Ether-powered Mack Pinnacle with the New York City Department of Sanitation, the first Mack customer to evaluate DME, which is a nontoxic, clean-burning alternative fuel that is being provided by California-based Oberon Fuels.
"We look forward to gathering data with DSNY and Oberon to better determine the performance and drivability of the DME-powered Mack Pinnacle model," Mack President Dennis Slagle said. "We believe DME shows great promise, and we are pleased to to be working with our longtime customer DSNY to evaluate the fuel as a viable alternative to diesel."
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Work to convert the truck's MP8 13-liter engine to run on DME was performed at Mack's technical center in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the company's Lehigh Valley Operations, which employs about 1,480, assembled the truck at its Lower Macungie Township plant, spokesman Christopher Heffner said.
The DME truck test — which will help Mack and Oberon gather data on the use of the fuel in urban, heavy-load fleets — expands Mack's growing alternative fuel lineup, which includes natural gas-powered versions of some truck models. But, in general, the more expensive alternative fuel trucks haven't caught on yet — at least in part because diesel prices remain low.
When it comes to DME, the fuel is approved for use in every state and delivers the same performance as diesel while burning cleanly without producing soot, according to Oberon, which produced the first fuel-grade DME in North America in 2013.
For New York City — one of Mack's largest customers — testing the DME-powered truck fits into a plan announced last year by Mayor Bill de Blasio to reduce emissions in the city by 80% by 2050.
RELATED: California approves DME as a transportation fuel
The test, which is taking place at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, will last several weeks, with results expected to be available by the middle of the year. The sanitation department will use the truck to haul a variety of loads, including equipment, and diesel fuel, between its facilities, Heffner said.
"The New York City Department of Sanitation is committed to seeking opportunities to reduce our environmental footprint," Deputy Commissioner Rocco DiRico said. "DME could be one solution to help us achieve this goal."
While this is the first DME-powered Mack, the truck maker offers other alternative fuel vehicles, such as natural gas-powered versions of its Pinnacle DayCab, TerraPro and LR series trucks, Heffner said.
Also, he said Mack is exploring other alternative fuel and propulsion systems, including a plug-in hybrid electric Pinnacle model, a catenary-powered hybrid Pinnacle model and a range-extended LR model featuring a powertrain from Wrightspeed, a company led by Tesla Motors co-founder Ian Wright.
While Mack is actively evaluating several alternative fuel choices, affordable diesel prices are making it difficult for many truck fleets to justify purchasing more expensive equipment, such as trucks that run on liquefied natural gas or compressed natural gas, according to a transportation equipment report issued last month by analysts at Stifel.
The current national average for diesel is $2.53 a gallon, higher than the year-ago price of $2.19 but still well below the highest recorded average price of $4.84 in July 2008, according to AAA.
Stifel analysts say the lower-than-expected diesel prices and improvements in diesel engine miles per gallon are among the reasons more robust forecasts for alternative fuel trucks have not panned out.
For example, the report states, natural gas-fueled vehicles represent about 2% of total heavy-duty trucks, and Stifel expects sales of those trucks to increase "only modestly" this year despite greater engine availability.
But, in general, the heavy-duty truck market was down in 2016 compared with peak demand in 2015.
For example, Mack delivered 3,963 trucks worldwide in the third quarter, a 40% decline from the 6,623 it sent out during the same period in 2015 and its weakest third quarter since 2010.
Mack's parent company, Volvo Group, expected new retail truck deliveries for North America to finish at around 240,000 in 2016 and then decline to 215,000 this year.
To meet the lower demand, the Lower Macungie plant was idled the week of Jan. 2.
