Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/303000
A s the industry continues its gradual march toward natural gas adoption, equipment and engine manufacturers and fuel providers expand truck and tank storage options as well as fueling sites. In March at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louis- ville, Ky., the general feeling from engine and truck OEMs seemed to be that they'd done all the could to advance natural gas technology given the market's current state. In other words, it seems the industry fi nally knows the answer to the "equipment vs. infrastructure" debate that has swirled since the concept of natural gas-powered trucks took hold in North America. The mood among manufacturers is that they have stepped up and deliv- ered both the technology and equipment to make both liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) viable fuel choices for fl eets that would like to wean themselves off diesel. Fuel providers, meanwhile, have been busy making large commitments and rolling out new station locations for both CNG and LNG fueling. "The lack of fueling infrastructure might have been an issue several years ago but no longer," says Patric Rayburn, spokesperson for Clean En- ergy Fuels. "Clean Energy and many other companies have built a robust natural gas fueling network and continue to provide carriers with additional fueling solu- tions as they switch their fl eets." Initial demand for natural gas was driven largely by escalating diesel prices. But the North American diesel fuel market appears to have stabilized as of late, with various industry experts pre- dicting favorable pricing for the Infrastructure development, equipment options continue to grow for natural gas BY JACK ROBERTS AND JEFF CRISSEY PAVING THE WAY SPECIAL REPORT NATURAL GAS: S TILL TRUCKING'S FUTURE FUEL? COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MAY 2014 43