TOP NEWS

March 07, 2008

UPS Adds 306 Alternative-Fuel Vehicles to Fleet

ARTICLE TOOLS        | E-MailPrint

LOUISVILLE, KY – UPS has placed an order for 167 CNG delivery trucks and took delivery of 139 new propane delivery trucks for its North American delivery service. In addition, the company has launched an initiative to use biodiesel fuel in its ground support vehicles at its air hub in Louisville, Ky. UPS’ worldwide AFV fleet includes 1,629 vehicles, the largest such private fleet in the transportation industry. The fleet includes CNG, LNG, propane, electric, and hybrid electric vehicles. UPS already operates 800 CNG delivery trucks in the United States and plans to locate the new CNG vehicles in Dallas; Atlanta; Los Angeles; Ontario, Calif.; San Ramon, Calif.; and Fresno, Calif.

The propane vehicles will join the nearly 600 propane trucks already operating in Canada and Mexico. The propane and CNG trucks currently in the UPS fleet were converted from gasoline and diesel vehicles in the 1980s to run on alternative fuels. The new trucks are originally manufactured for alternative fuel use. The chassis for the CNG trucks are being purchased in two sizes from Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation.

The trucks will feature engines from Cummins Westport that are expected to yield a 20 percent emissions reduction and 10 percent improvement in fuel economy over the cleanest diesel engines available in the market today. The new propane-powered vehicles were manufactured by Workhorse Custom Chassis and feature the latest technology in clean burning propane engines provided by Baytech Corporation. The biodiesel initiative in Louisville is being funded with the support of a $515,000 federal grant that is helping to offset some of the cost of building a fuel infrastructure at the airport. The infrastructure will provide B-5, a five percent biodiesel blend, to operate 366 UPS ground support vehicles starting early in 2008.

RATE THIS STORY

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (4 votes)

COMMENT ON THIS STORY

Please log in to write comment.

New user? Sign up for new membership now!

NEWS ARCHIVE SEARCH

Sponsored Links

6 Ways to Go Green and Save
By analyzing driving patterns and historical location reports from Networkfleet®, fleets can reduce miles and optimize schedules. Click here to download our free Green paper.

BLOG

SEC Proposal to Allow Early Adoption of International Accounting Standards

By Mike Antich
On Aug. 27, the Securities and Exchange Commission raised the possibility that approximately 110 U.S. publicly traded companies will be able to use international accounting standards (IAS) next year and may require all U.S. companies to switch to IAS between 2014-2016. There is a 60-day comment period about the SEC proposal. Fleet leasing will be impacted by the adoption of IAS. It is probable that all fleet leases in the U.S. will need to be capitalized sometime in the 2011-2016 timeframe.

The Hidden Cost of Personal Use

By Mike Antich
With fuel prices remaining elevated, many companies are wondering whether they are charging enough for personal use. At some companies, this discussion is long overdue. When re-evaluating personal use charges, a common mistake is to focus solely on the cost of fuel, which is understandable because, after all, fuel is the catalyst for these discussions. However, doing so ignores the other “hidden” costs of personal use, which have also risen.

Fleet Becomes an Epicenter for Interdepartmental Encroachment

By Mike Antich

Strategic Fleet Management Focuses on Management by Objective

By Mike Antich

STORE

$10.00

ARN Magazine - November/December 2007

In This Issue:
Sixt AG: The Art of Moving People, Car Rental Trends for 2008, Protecting Against Insurance Fraud and much more…