Ryder

In the continuing low price commodity market, growth in the natural gas vehicle (NGV) sector is essentially flat, facing longer paybacks and narrower price differences with diesel, Clean Energy Fuels CEO Andrew Littlefair said Thursday during an earnings conference call.

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted 23-3 in support of legislation extending tax credits for the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel and investment in natural gas vehicle (NGV) infrastructure.

Florida-based Ryder System Inc., the truck leasing/rental giant, announced plans to provide 30 compressednatural gas (CNG) trucks to third-party warehousing/transportation providerSaddle Creek at its facilities in Texas and Louisiana, and another 55 liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks for clean transportation infrastructure/vehicle provider Blu in Utah and Georgia. The CNG-fueled trucks going to Saddle Creek are Freightliner Cascadia models (11.9 Cummins Westport ISX12 G engines). There are also 35 LNG Peterbilt 386 tractors for Blu in Salt Lake City, with 15-liter high pressure direct injection engines and fuel systems from Westport Innovations. In Atlanta, Ryder is providing Blu with Peterbilt 384 and Freightliner Cascadia trucks operating on LNG, Ryder’s first natural gas vehicles in the state. Delivery of the trucks is slated for the first quarter of 2013. Ryder and Blu said they have also reached an agreement to provide LNG fueling infrastructure at key Ryder facilities.

A compressed natural gas-fueled Freightliner M2 112 delivered to Ryder System Inc. Tuesday was the 1,000th natural gas truck delivered by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), which claims to be the first commercial vehicle manufacturer to reach that milestone. The truck was manufactured at DTNA’s plant in Mt. Holly, NC. Portland, OR-based DTNA reported combined sales of 3,600 natural gas vehicles to date. As part of a $16 million allocation to promote clean transportation fuels, the California Energy Commission earlier this year approved a $1.28 million grant to DTNA for 40 heavy-duty natural gas-fueled vehicles in a buy-down program (see Daily GPI, May 27).