Editor’s note: This is the first part of the two-part “Natural gas reality check” series. See Part 2 Tuesday.
In April 2011, on-highway diesel broke the $4-per-gallon mark for the first time since the recession, double the low of $2-per-gallon just two years earlier. Fleet managers, still reeling from the effects of the economic downturn, were scrambling for answers.
By 2012, there was no bigger buzzword in trucking than natural gas. Whether it was compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas, OEMs and engine makers were ramping up for what was expected to be a game-changer for trucking efficiency.
By that time, diesel had stabilized at about $4 per gallon, and no one thought it would drop soon. A handful of carriers were quick to react, converting some or most of their fleet equipment to more expensive natural gas-powered tractors to take advantage of the fuel’s comparatively low cost. Many other carriers followed suit, dipping their toes in the water and getting positive results, just as the fueling infrastructure was unfolding.
Other carriers were pressured into natural gas adoption by customers with aggressive environmental sustainability initiatives such as Owens Corning and Procter & Gamble. By December 2013, Class 8 natural gas truck sales had risen from nowhere to account for 3.2 percent of the total U.S. and Canadian Class 8 truck market, according to FTR, an industry analyst firm that tracks equipment and freight trends.
Some were calling for the natural gas truck market to skyrocket at that time, with Thomas O’Brien, TravelCenters of America president and chief executive officer, suggesting that one in four heavy trucks on the road in 2020 would be powered by natural gas.
The diesel dip
