Note: This is the third and final installment of a multi-part series on natural gas’ role in trucking. The first article, “The politics of natural gas trucks” can be found here. The second, “Clearing hurdles that aren’t diesel prices” can be found here.
However, the average price of diesel fuel fell to $2.30 per gallon last year, its lowest point since diesel crossed the $2 per gallon mark in 2004, and stunted growth in the segment.
“Diesel prices are a headwind,” Westport Fuel Systems Vice President of Business Development and Product Management Brad Douville says of adoption rates. “The [return on investment], depends on mileage and several other factors, but at $4 [for a gallon of diesel], the phones don’t stop ringing.”
“I don’t want to call it a stagnant market,” adds ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam, “but I would argue we’re in between the innovator and early adopter stage.”
The U.S. Department of Energy says the use of natural gas reduces greenhouse gas emissions from 6 to 11 percent and according to ACT Research data, 6,885 natural gas trucks were sold last year, up slightly from 6,767 units sold the year before.
Driven mostly by engine emission regulations, the agency’s forecast calls for 6,900 units this year – about 4 percent of all heavy truck sales expected for 2017.
