Ryder System, Inc., a commercial transportation and supply chain management solutions provider, has entered into an agreement with Staples, the world’s largest office products company, to add ten heavy duty compressed natural gas (CNG) tractors to Ryder’s dedicated fleet servicing Staples. These CNG tractors – the first of their kind used in Staples’ third party dedicated operations – will replace ten diesel tractors currently used by Ryder for Staples, and have been made available through Ryder’s natural gas vehicle project agreement with the San Bernardino Associated Governments (“SANBAG”) in Southern California.
The CNG tractors will be used to transport inventory to Staples stores in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and the Inland Empire, and will be serviced out of Ryder’s network of natural gas compliant maintenance facilities in Southern California. Staples has been a member of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Climate Leaders program since 2004, and is an EPA 2011 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year.
“Improving the efficiency of our transportation fleet is an important part of our strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy conservation in our operations,” stated Mark Day, senior manager of carrier management at Staples. “Leveraging the environmental and cost-saving benefits of natural gas vehicles is one example of the kind of sustainable choices that we are making to reduce our operational impacts. We believe that by partnering with Ryder in this type of initiative, we can do our part to help protect the environment and save money at the same time.”
According to Ryder, the CNG vehicles chosen produce 20 to 30 percent less emissions than comparable diesel vehicles, and natural gas costs as much as 42 percent less per equivalent gallon of diesel (based on current diesel fuel prices).
“Ryder’s natural gas vehicle solution provides our customers with an innovative opportunity to save money and make efficiency improvements in their supply chains, without sacrificing quality and service execution,” said John Sonia, Ryder’s senior vice president of operations for Ryder’s Dedicated Contract Carriage division. “These vehicles will enhance the good work we are already doing with Staples to improve the efficiency, environmental-soundness, and overall performance of their supply chain.”
The $38.7 million Ryder/SANBAG project is part of a public/private partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, the Southern California Association of Governments Clean Cities Coalition, and Ryder. The project includes 202 natural gas vehicles, upgrades to three maintenance facilities for the proper servicing of natural gas vehicles, and the construction of two fueling stations.
(This article compiled using information from a Ryder Systems, Inc. press release)
