UPS Expands LNG Fueling Stations; AMP Americas Signs CNG Dairy Industry Deal

AMP CNG fleet

by | Oct 9, 2013

This article is included in these additional categories:

AMP CNG fleetAMP Americas and UPS have announced plans to expand natural gas infrastructure across the US.

AMP Americas has signed a deal with Dairy Farmers of America and Select Milk Producers, both national dairy cooperatives, to work with haulers to convert their fleets to compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks (pictured).

Combined, these co-ops produce more than 20 percent, or 40 billion pounds, of milk produced in America.

Under the agreement, AMP-Trillium, the joint venture between AMP Americas and Trillium CNG, will build seven public fueling stations between now and early 2014 and lease new CNG trucks that will travel more than 13.2 million miles per year, servicing routes throughout Texas. The stations, which will be built in Waco, Amarillo, Harrold, Sweetwater, Weatherford, Kerrville and Midland, will initially fuel 40 Class-8 Kenworth and Peterbilt CNG sleeper trucks, a number that will double over the course of the agreement.

Nathan Laurell, CEO of AMP Americas, says the deal will save the supply chain between $1.5 and $2 in fuel savings for every gallon sold.

Additionally, UPS plans to invest about $50 million to build an additional nine liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling stations, bringing its total number of stations to 13.

The company announced plans to build four LNG refueling stations in April. UPS expects all 13 to be operational by the end of 2014.

The LNG fueling infrastructure will support the operation of about 1,000 UPS LNG vehicles that will displace more than 24 million gallons of diesel fuel annually, the company says. UPS has used LNG vehicles for more than a decade and has benefited from lower fuel prices compared to imported petroleum.

The expansion will include on-site fueling stations in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Construction is already underway at previously announced UPS facilities in Tennessee and Texas. Currently, UPS operates LNG tractors in Las Vegas, Nev., Phoenix, Ariz., Beaver and Salt Lake City, Utah, and, Ontario, Calif. UPS began using LNG tractors in its delivery fleet in 2002.

Vehicles represent about 35 percent of UPS’s carbon footprint, UPS CEO David Abney says. The company has set a goal to reach 1 billion miles driven by alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles by 2017.

UPS’ 2,700-vehicle alternative fuel fleets includes all-electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, CNG, LNG, liquid propane gas (LPG), biomethane, and light-weight fuel-saving composite body vehicles.

Additional articles you will be interested in.

Stay Informed

Get E+E Leader Articles delivered via Newsletter right to your inbox!

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Share This