Wal-Mart to Test Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Trucks

Wal-Mart Stores will test two types of hybrid trucks and two types of alternatively fueled trucks, the company announced Monday.

The testing program is part of the company's efforts to increase fuel efficiency in its fleet, Wal-Mart said.

The trucks in the test are:

· A dual-mode diesel-electric hybrid made by Arvin-Meritor (running out of the Detroit area)

· Fifteen trucks which will be coverted to run on a fuel made from used cooking grease from Wal-Mart stores (running out of a distribution center in Buckeye, Ariz.)

· Five Peterbilt Model 386 trucks with diesel-electric hybrid engines developed by Eaton Corp. and Paccar Inc. (running in the Dallas; Houston; Apple Valley, Calif., Atlanta, and Washington/Baltimore regions)

· Four Peterbilt Model 386 trucks and one yard truck, operated only at the distrubtion center, run on liquid natural gas (run out of a southern California distribution center)

Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retail chain, is ranked No. 3 on the Transport Topics Private 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian private carriers.