* Minnesota - 10 percent blend has hurt trucking firms, carmakers and the oil industry
-- Minnesota truckers and other interests sued Minnesota on Friday seeking to end the state’s requirement that diesel sold at the pump contain 10 percent biodiesel... The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota alleges that the state mandate is in conflict with federal clean air and renewable fuels laws. The suit asks for a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the existing mandate and any future expansion of a higher biodiesel ratio... In court papers, the 690-member Minnesota Trucking Association alleged that the mandate drives up the price of diesel fuel and forces trucking companies to ignore truck engine warranties that specify using no more than B-5, or 5 percent biodiesel... Last July, the state blending ratio increased from 5 percent to 10 percent for part of the year, and eventually could rise to 20 percent. It remains at B-5 from October to March to reduce the risk of fuel thickening into jelly during cold months... Joining the trucker group in the suit are the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute, and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. Auto dealers and makers contend they lose sales and loyal customers and incur higher warranty costs because of the mandate, while petroleum companies say they face additional costs to distribute B-10 in Minnesota...
(Photo: GLEN STUBBE • Star Tribune -One trucker said the mandate added 3 cents a gallon to diesel prices) -- St. Paul, MINN, USA - The Star Tribune, by DAVID SHAFFER - April 17, 2015
* DC - NGV trucking: More fueling points, new vehicles.
-- Rapid refueling, whether LNG or CNG is a requirement for a successful OTR natural gas site. More of these facilities are being installed across the U.S.A. and Canada. Many offer a choice between CNG and LNG. It has long been recognized that over-the-road (OTR) trucking represents a major opportunity to replace petroleum fuels with natural gas... CNG is usually compressed at the delivery site from pipeline-delivered natural gas, while LNG is more commonly delivered by tanker to the refueling point. Delivered cost of either natural gas fuel is typically one-half to two-thirds the price of the equivalent gallons of diesel fuel. Fuel costs are generally cited as gallons-of-diesel-equivalent (GDE). Because it need to be trucked to the dispensing site, and because of the energy cost of the liquefaction process, LNG is typically somewhat more expensive than CNG. Estimates of the cost differential range from 25 cents to as much as 75 cents GDE... Payback for the higher cost of a natural gas tractor can range from one to three years, depending on local fuel costs and miles driven. If, as Lindholm projects, natural gas vehicle costs continue to decline proportionate to diesel vehicles, the paybacks could be even shorter. Currently the price of diesel fuel is somewhat depressed because of lower crude oil prices. How long this will continue is debatable. Judd Cook from Questar Fueling indicates that the fuel price differential is a major driver in the decision to switch to natural gas, and some truckers are watching trends. At the current time, he feels the typical paybacks are 18 to 24 months, which is enough to continue to stimulate interest...
(Image Courtesy U.S. Department of Energy: Fast fill popup truck slider) -- Washington, DC, USA - Plant Engineering - 17 April 2015
* Opportunities in a lower fuel price environment
-- Analysts at business management consulting firm Strategy (formerly Booz & Co.), suggested that fleets take the opportunity to adjust their networks to focus more on speed of delivery in cases where there's been some trade-off for fuel costs, and go after some business that's currently moving on rail... In a report on "The Impact of Reduced Oil Prices on the Transportation Sector," Andrew Tipping, Andrew Schmahl and Fred Duiven point out that assuming 5 to 7 mpg and an oil price of $60 to $80 per barrel, the line-haul cost per container mile is $1.82 for trucks versus $0.37 for rail, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. "Lower oil prices, however, will narrow that relative price gap" ... Since reduced fuel costs allow trucking to be more competitive compared with rail, they suggest trucking companies look to recapture customers they may have previously lost when oil prices were higher. In fact, they say, it's already been happening...
(Photo: A worldwide glut of oil is driving down gas prices at the pump) -- TruckingInfo,by Deborah Lockridge - April 17, 2015Labels: fuel costs, fuel costs solution, fuel costs troubles
![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home