UPS is investing in around 700 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles to be purchased and fourrefuelling stations to be built by the end of 2014 with an initial investment of more than $18
million.Once completed, the LNG private fleet will be one of the most extensive in the USA, thecompany predicted. Scott Davis, UPS Chairman and CEO, said. “LNG is a good alternative topetroleum-based fuel for long-haul delivery fleets as it is abundant and produces reduced emissionsat less cost. At UPS, we are helping to knock down some of the biggest hurdles to broad marketacceptance of LNG in commercial transportation by continuing to establish vehicle demand, fuel andmaintenance infrastructures.”
UPS has been operating natural gas vehicles for more than a decade. With natural gas prices30-40 per cent lower than imported diesel and US production gearing up, the logistics company isinvesting more aggressively in the natural gas infrastructure necessary to make it part of the UPSdelivery network. Beyond favourable fuel cost and domestic resource access, the industry cites 25per cent less CO2 emissions. UPS already operates 112 LNG tractor trailers from fuelling stationsin Las Vegas (Nevada), Phoenix (Arizona) and Beaver and Salt Lake City (Utah), and has its own LNGfueling station on its property in Ontario (California).
New UPS-built fueling stations in Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis (Tennessee), and Dallas(Texas,) will serve its heavy-weight rigs travelling into adjacent states. With the addition ofaccessible LNG fueling stations, UPS also will deploy LNG trucks on routes from Dallas, Houston andSan Antonio.
“Public-private partnerships and legislative action can remove disincentives from fuel taxeson natural gas as well as offset the higher incremental costs of the vehicles to create thefavorable conditions for companies like UPS and others to broaden deployment,” Davis added.
Worldwide, UPS has more than 1,000 natural gas vehicles on the road today. Its alternativefleet of more than 2,600 vehicles in total includes a variety of low-emissions vehicles, such asall-electrics, electric hybrids, hydraulic hybrids, propane, compressed natural gas and biomethane.Since 2000, the fleet powered by alternative fuels and technologies has driven more than 295million miles.
As a global sustainability pioneer, UPS was a founding Interstate Clean TransportationCorridor (ICTC) fleet partner, a group that established publicly accessible LNG fuelling stationsin California, Las Vegas, and Utah. The ICTC steering committee includes eight government andregulatory agencies at the local, state and national levels.
