Coca Cola & UPS Canada Try to Clean Up Their Truck Fleets
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.27.08
Trucks are not a sexy topic, but they are a big contributors to air pollution and global warming, especially in the US where shipping by train has seen better days (in 2002, trucks transported 58.2% of all commercial freight while rail was 12%). So it's good to see that it's not only passenger vehicles that are improving in efficiency.
Coca Cola has ordered 120 Eaton hybrid delivery trucks, on top of the 20 it bought in 2007. These should reduce emissions by about 32% and fuel consumption by up to 37% compared to the company's regular trucks.
UPS Canada is going a different route: Propane (LPG). The company will use 139 new propane-powered trucks that are expected to reduce UPS’ CO2 emissions by 254 metric tonnes per year, a 35% improvement compared to conventional engines. "Additionally, particulate matter emitted from vehicles will be virtually eliminated."
Eaton’s hybrid system for city delivery applications uses a parallel, pre-transmission design with Eaton’s Fuller UltraShift automated transmission. Primary components are the Hybrid Drive Unit (HDU), which combines a clutch, a 44 kW/420 Nm motor/generator and automatically controlled manual transmission; the motor inverter/controller; the DC/DC converter; and a 2 kWh li-ion battery pack from Hitachi. [...]UPS’ global alternative-fuel fleet now stands at 1,629 vehicles—the largest such private fleet in the transportation industry—and includes compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane and electric and hybrid electric vehicles. UPS is also working with the US Environmental Protection Agency on a hydraulic hybrid delivery vehicle.
This is not enough. Still not sustainable. But it is a step in the right direction and worth noting (we've always been more carrot than stick at TreeHugger). Lets just not take our eyes off the final goal and keep going.
::Coca-Cola Orders 120 New Hybrid Trucks; Eaton’s Largest NA Commercial Order to Date, ::UPS Canada Adding 139 LPG Delivery Trucks to Fleet
See also: ::Coca-Cola To Spend $3 Million For Green Upgrades, ::Coca-Cola to Step Up Recycling, Improve Image, ::Coca Cola and WWF Conserving Water (?), ::UPS Unveils "World's Most Efficient Delivery Vehicle", ::UPS’s New Hydraulic Hybrid Available For Test Ride In NYC, ::UPS To Spend $600 Million On Improving Efficiency, ::Wal-Mart Hits The Road With Hybrid Peterbilt 386
Of course this ignores the fact that these companies are using their own trucks to make deliveries that could be made with a single truck. UPS, USPS (in the US), and FedEx (Air and Ground) each pass my house each day. It could all come in one truck. Same for different soft drink companies going to each individual grocery store.
I realize there are competitive advantages for this to happen and to some extent we benefit, but we also pay an environmental cost. Do I have a solution? No. Mandate that all deliveries come by the postal service--we had that and they did such a poor job that other companies stepped in. Now even the postal service is better, but if the competition went away, they would probably go downhill. But someone must have some ideas.
"Of course this ignores the fact that these companies are using their own trucks to make deliveries that could be made with a single truck."
I don't think these companies are driving around with half empty trucks all that much... (or at least they try as much as possible not too, it's just a way to save money).
So you'd have the same number of trucks, but all from the same company. Not a big improvement.
Nah, I'd rather see competition between them to have the most efficient fleet, because it's a competitive advantage and nobody will want to be left behind.
With a monopoly, there would actually be much less pressure for change (as is always the case).
At least FedEx and UPS are shipping things people WANT and in some cases need.
The USPS is mostly (by volume) burning diesel to carry junk mail that nobody wants for the most part, and gets stuffed into the trash and more diesel is burned in a garbage truck to haul it off.
USPS could deliver to alternate areas every other day and reduce on junk mail and save tons of fuel.
ok we get the whole mass sending and less companies but what about the buying of brand new vehicles?
we don't need new when we have existing that can be refitted with better engines and hybrid engines or in canada's case deisel engines. does it cost more to do that or get new trucks and dump the old one in the trash heep and still contribute to global warming???
lose lose situation i think.
Jody,
I think there's a pretty good chance that they would have bought new trucks anyway. Might as well buy hybrids and LPG..
Jody,
It doesn't really work that way. Buying new is actually cheaper. Those trucks get used hard, and its not just the engine that causes problems. Companies like Coca-cola spend big money to optimize fleet turnover (repairing vs replacing).
What IS changing is technology. In route delivery anyway, computerized systems and bulk delivery changes are drastically reducing miles driven.
There's only so far that can go though. In the end, the beer (coke, pepsi, whatever), still has to get to your corner convenience store.
Can someone clarify for me the Vancouver to Kamloops logistics. Is it not true ..? that the company in Q, also dispatches ALL their stock orders ; small cooler..to a Mega-Mart, from a Vancouver distribution. Do "They" actually drive a Truck from Vancouver to Kamloops to Deliver the smaller stock orders or is there a distribution center here ? I would hope so anways..! thanks for listening.