UPS to purchase ~700 LNG trucks, build 4 refueling stations by end of 2014

UPS plans to purchase approximately 700 liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks and to build four refueling stations by the end of 2014. Once completed, the LNG private fleet will be one of the most extensive in the US.

An initial investment of more than $18 million to build fueling stations will be supported by the purchase of the 700 LNG tractors and continued expansion of the natural gas fleet in the US. UPS already operates 112 LNG tractor trailers from fueling stations in Las Vegas, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz., and Beaver and Salt Lake City, Utah, and has its own LNG fueling station on its property in Ontario, Calif.

New UPS-built fueling stations in Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., and Dallas, Texas, will serve its heavy-duty rigs traveling into adjacent states. With the addition of accessible LNG fueling stations, UPS also will add LNG trucks on routes from Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Texas to further extend territory.

UPS was a founding Interstate Clean Transportation Corridor (ICTC) fleet partner, a group that established publicly accessible LNG fueling stations in California, Las Vegas, and Utah. The ICTC steering committee includes eight government and regulatory agencies at the local, state and national levels.

LNG is a good alternative to petroleum-based fuel for long-haul delivery fleets as it is abundant and produces reduced emissions at less cost. At UPS, we are helping to knock down some of the biggest hurdles to broad market acceptance of LNG in commercial transportation by continuing to establish vehicle demand, fuel and maintenance infrastructures. We plan expansion through infrastructure partnerships and a broader fleet in states that are leading the way to make alternative fuel vehicles economically feasible.

—Scott Davis, UPS Chairman and CEO

UPS has been operating natural gas vehicles for more than a decade. With natural gas prices 30-40% lower than imported diesel and US production gearing up, the logistics company is investing more aggressively in the natural gas infrastructure necessary to make it part of the UPS delivery network here. Beyond favorable fuel cost and domestic resource access, the industry cites 25% less CO₂emissions.

Worldwide UPS has more than 1,000 natural gas vehicles on the road today. UPS’s alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet of more than 2,600 vehicles also includes a wide array of low-emissions vehicles, including all-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 295 million miles.