Is natural gas the solution?   

Natural gas powered class 8 trucks received good national coverage in the Wall Street Journal this week. The article by Jeffrey Bell on May 17 is balanced, highlighting the large amount of diesel consumed by 18-wheelers, but also pointing out the high incremental cost of buying natural gas vehicles. UPS states that they pay $95k for a diesel truck but $195k for an equivalent natural gas vehicle. UPS says they will only make this kind of investment if tax credits are offered, which are discussed in the article. The UPS numbers are twice as high as most estimates I have heard, but even $50K of incremental cost is hard to pony up for anyone who believes that diesel could fall back to the $2/gallon level.

For those who attended our Shipper Symposium last week, you may think the reporter was in our audience as Mr. Pickens addressed our group last week. That is not the case, but please have a first or second look at Mr. Pickens' excellent presentation on our Symposium web site.