Opinion: CNG - A Highly Efficient Domestic Fuel
This Opinion piece appears in the Feb. 1 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
By Mike Gatt
Vice President of IGS CNG Services
It has been great to have a lull in high fuel prices, hasn’t it? Almost something we could get used to. But would you bet on these prices sticking around forever?
Well, steady fuel prices aren’t complete fiction. In fact, there’s a fuel that has been gaining popularity over the past decade that might finally be worth looking into — no matter what gas and diesel are doing.
CNG — or compressed natural gas — is a highly efficient, domestically sourced fuel that boasts a long life of low, steady costs. Those costs might not be so far from diesel or gasoline today, but there’s more to the story.
Are fossil-fuel prices sustainable?
The fleet and freight industry has been enjoying a season of low fuel prices, which can lessen the urgency for a fleet manager to move toward an alternative fuel source. But even at these low levels, traditional fuels have proven to be unstable over the long haul.
Built on supply-and-demand economies, diesel prices this low just aren’t sustainable. At a rate of more than 9 million barrels of foreign oil imported per day, there are factors beyond anyone’s control that could end up leaving traditional-fuel fleets with sticker shock.
Domestic fuel is safer.
On the other hand, the cost for CNG doesn’t react like other fuels in the marketplace, mostly because it’s a domestic product. Pulled right from American soil, this resource is simply easier to get when demand picks up.
Because CNG does not cross the ocean from foreign markets, CNG prices are safe from those uncontrollable factors — such as political unrest or hurricanes — which otherwise would send diesel and gasoline costs up.
The example has been set.
Stable prices aside, the fact that larger fleets across the United States have been turning away from diesel engines — despite these low traditional fuel prices — should cause the prudent observer to sit up and take notice.
For example, companies such as Waste Management and UPS Inc. are switching to CNG as their fuel of choice. When businesses invest in converting their massive fleets, you begin to wonder if they know something that most people don’t.
One reason that CNG is gaining popularity with these larger companies has to be that the CNG infrastructure is continually growing. The installation of CNG dispensers throughout the Midwest and at nearly every major hub has made “range anxiety” a thing of the past.
Not only are dispensers readily available, but at the rate that the CNG industry is growing, many CNG companies are willing to work with medium to large fleets when placing their future stations, making them readily accessible by those fleets.
But availability isn’t the only factor: CNG’s efficiency and cleanliness also make it a great option for refuse, transit and return-to-base fleets. Day-cab fleets, those with low-mpg routes, or trucks that do a lot of consistent starting and stopping can really see the efficiency of CNG at work on their bottom line.
Drivers are wanted.
Those bigger fleet companies that are converting to CNG see something else that also bears mentioning: They know that drivers love CNG vehicles.
Between the reduction of in-cab noise and the fact that CNG won’t leave you reeking of diesel after a day on the road, CNG can do a lot to win over a driver’s loyalty.
In fact, the sound differential between a diesel engine and a CNG engine is 10-to-1. Over time, that detail alone could pay huge dividends in driver retention and longevity.
A diversified portfolio
Getting into CNG is easier than you may think; converting your fleet to CNG doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing venture. Partial conversions make good business sense from a diversification standpoint, while still allowing your business to start benefiting immediately.
Even just making a plan to slowly replace traditional fuel vehicles with CNG vehicles can be prudent. Resources online can calculate the return on investment of different-size fleet conversions, and companies online can walk you through your options for when you’re ready to get started.
Early-bird benefits
Of course, getting started isn’t an overnight process because lead times on converting a fleet to CNG can be upward of six to nine months, only one manufacturer currently specializes in CNG-exclusive engines and the wait could start to get longer.
Join the conversation.
If you are thinking about CNG for your fleet, know that you are not alone in considering the conversion. The growing awareness of CNG’s value to our country is changing the minds of fleet managers and business owners across the United States.
Combine that with the various incentives in select states, CNG dispensers popping up every month and a great app that pinpoints every station from wherever you are, and the transition from traditional fuels to CNG is making more sense every day.
IGS CNG Services, a complete solutions provider to the natural-gas vehicle industry and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, is an affiliate within the IGS brand of companies.
