U.S. truck makers and other industry suppliers believe in the future of natural gas-fuelled transportation, reports online newsletter Fleet Owner. Such was the talk at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) held in Louisville last week, and at the adjacent National NGV Fleet Summit. NGV order and build rates apparently impressed many participants.
- Marty Kleker, national fleet sales manager for Peterbilt Motors Co. reported an average natural gas truck build rate of “six to eight trucks per day,” including both CNG- and LNG-powered vehicles.
- Richard P. Shearing, director of product strategy for Daimler Trucks North America, said the company has 7,600 natural gas-powered units on the road globally.
- Westport Innovations VP international development & external affairs, Jonathan Burke is reported as saying “Gas producers are entering the industry now and working to build out the supply chain. We are planning for the big orders we think are coming.”
- Kenworth Truck Co.’s national sales manager, Andy Douglas, noted that “natural gas is the technology we will see emerge as the alternative to diesel. We really believe the cost of natural gas to diesel will be the real driver.” According to Douglas, Kenworth has more than 200 orders for NG vehicles in the backlog and quotes out in the field for “well in excess of 11,000 units.”
Read more on the item at Fleet Owner.
newsletter Fleet Owner
Print 
PDF 