Before electrification, fleets seeking to reduce their carbon footprint turned to natural gas.
While sales of natural gas trucks have never made up a significant portion of the overall Class 8 order book, it does continue to grow.
For the first 11 months of 2021, according to data released by ACT Research, U.S. and Canadian Class 8 natural gas truck retail sales rose 3% year-to-date against 2020. Total U.S. Class 8 sales were up 16% for the same period.
North America's six major truck OEMs – International, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Volvo and Mack – account for approximately 60% of the heavy-duty natural gas market.
Sales of compressed and liquified natural gas trucks produced mixed results late in 2021 with September enjoying a small year-over-year gain and October and November each losing ground, according to Steve Tam, ACT Research vice president. "In the near term, September saw a middling sequential gain, while October sank before sales jumped month-over-month in November," he said. "Combined, sales in the three-month period diluted year-to-date gains meaningfully, a pattern that started in July.”
Tam noted that competition in the green energy space is fierce, and zero emission is putting pressure on sales of near-zero emission units and development of the natural gas infrastructure.