Nike To Use LNG For Port-Related Trucking Needs

Nike and its affiliate Converse are switching a portion of their Los Angeles area harbor drayage fleet from diesel to new Liquefied Natural Gas fueled vehicles. The “green fleet” announcement was made in conjunction with news that Nike has joined the Coalition for Responsible Transportation, a group advocating for policies and public/private partnerships that encourage the use of cleaner truck technologies in port communities.

Nike estimates the new LNG trucks will emit 18 percent less CO2, 88 percent less NOx and 96 percent less particulate matter per mile when compared to their diesel counterparts. Nike has teamed up with Green Fleet, a division of Southern Counties Express, a local trucking firm, to meet approximately 50 percent of its port-related trucking needs in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area. Southern Counties Express will be taking delivery on more than 70 new LNG-fueled trucks in the next two months. The trucks were purchased in part with financial aid from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Air Quality Management District.

“Nike and our affiliate companies are committed to a 30 percent absolute CO2 reduction for inbound logistics by 2020,” said John Isbell, Nike’s Director of Corporate Logistics Services. “To do so will take an accumulation of many efforts just like this one in which we can take advantage of an environmentally preferred alternative.”