Natural Gas Options Return to NACFE 'Messy Middle' Spotlight
Efficiency Options Across Multiple Fuels on Display for Fleets
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The second day of the ’s “Messy Middle” demonstration — Sept. 9 — was World EV Day. But the event features almost as many natural-gas powered tractors as battery-electric models, as NACFE with this latest initiative aims to offer fleet managers more data on the powertrain choices available in the still-nascent alternative fuels space.
Renewed interest in natural gas is the latest milepost in that evolution, with momentum growing in states and provinces that lack sufficient charging infrastructure for battery-electric trucks.
In 2019, a UPS Inc. tractor running on compressed natural gas was included in the NACFE Run on Less Regional Haul demonstration, according to NACFE Director of Special Projects Dave Schaller.
Fort Wayne, Ind.-based NACFE first began using the term Messy Middle a year earlier to describe the stretch during which trucking works to transition from primarily diesel-only power to a landscape that includes more zero-emission vehicles.
In the ongoing Messy Middle program, Mullen Group’s bulk-hauling Kleysen Group unit is operating a Kenworth T880 sleeper tractor with a Cummins X15N natural gas engine out of Edmonton, Alberta.
We've added something new to this year. Here's our first Hot Takes video – a short video that is packed with information. Look for these throughout the Run. — North American Council for Freight Efficiency (@NACFE_Freight)
Mullen Group ranks No. 44 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 89 on the TT Top 100 logistics companies list.
No. 1-ranked TT Top 100 for-hire carrier UPS is operating a Kenworth T680 day cab tractor with an X15N engine out of Salt Lake City. UPS ranks No. 5 on the logistics TT100.
Grocery store chain Wegmans is running a Peterbilt 567 day cab with an X15N engine from a base in Rochester, N.Y. Wegmans ranks No. 13 among grocery carriers in the TT Top 100 private carrier rankings.
The 113-store grocery chain operates 200 tractors — of which 181 are fueled by CNG day cabs — and it expects all its tractors to be CNG-fueled by 2026, Transportation Safety Manager David Barth said during a recent call with reporters.
Through the first 10 of the 18 days of the initiative, Wegmans’ day cab had traveled 1,026 miles.
The other two tractors logged considerably more miles though. UPS’ day cab covered 4,827 miles with a top daily mileage of 696 miles on regular runs between Salt Lake City and Mesquite, Nev.
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Kleysen’s T880 sleeper covered 4,152 miles with a top daily mileage of 576 miles with one fuel stop. On multiple days, with a typical gross weight in excess of 140,000 pounds, the tractor covered 574 miles too.
“Anytime we’re looking at an alternative fuel, we obviously need to make sure that we can operate the Class 8 trucks at 63,500 kilograms (140,000 pounds),” Vice President of Distribution Services Phil Rivard said in comments in a NACFE informational video.
“We look at the application first. We don’t shoehorn technology in where it doesn’t belong. We make sure that the truck can do the job and we don’t have to sacrifice operational capability to do the job,” said Wegmans Procurement Area Manager Matt Harris.
The latest program in the Run on Less initiative is demonstrating diesel, renewable diesel, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric tractors in what has been a rough year for manufacturers and advocates of the latter two power options.
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MVT’s International LT sleeper tractor with a Cummins X15 engine running on diesel and operating from a base in Las Cruces, N.M., posted the heaviest use through the first 10 days — 7,492 miles.
Albert Transport’s diesel engine Freightliner Cascadia running out of Laredo, Texas, also topped 4,000 miles through the first 10 days while maintaining fuel consumption of 11.2 miles per gallon.
The 2022 Cascadia — with a full aero package including side skirts, chin air dam, 24-inch cab extenders pulling a dry van trailer with a nose cone, full trailer skirting and trailer tail — has a lifetime average of 10.5 mpg, according to CEO Henry Albert.
NACFE thanks all the professional drivers who efficiently deliver the goods we want and need with a special shout out to the drivers in this year’s – . — North American Council for Freight Efficiency (@NACFE_Freight)
Cummins’ X15N engine, serial production of which began in September 2024, has been available for order in a Cascadia since May.
While the energy return is lower from both CNG and renewable natural gas, the retail price of CNG is typically less than the average for diesel fuel. In April 2024, the nationwide difference was about 80 cents per diesel gallon equivalent (DGE), according to data from The Transport Project. In some states, the spread can be closer to $2.50 per DGE, it noted.
A gallon of gasoline equivalent (GGE) is the most common way CNG is sold at public fueling stations for trucks or buses. A DGE equals 1.136 GGE, with a gallon of diesel containing around 13.6% more energy than a gallon of gasoline.
NACFE expects to reveal the initial findings from the Messy Middle program in October.
The last Run on Less program a year ago focused on battery-electric tractors operating out of depots, with data on the Tesla Semi a highlight.
Saia is running a Tesla Semi out of Stockton, Calif., in this September’s program. The other battery-electric tractors involved are:
- 4Gen operating a Volvo VNR Electric day cab out of Rialto, Calif.
- JoyRide running a Windrose sleeper out of Phoenix.
- Nevoya operating an eCascadia day cab out of Colton, Calif.
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