At a national trade show, a Cheektowaga delivery company is displaying its propane powered FedEx delivery truck, the first such vehicle that’s contractor owned in the U.S.
The truck, owned by Jon Chase, CEO of Chase Delivery, was unveiled by Roush CleanTech at the NETA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.
Chase, who founded his company in 1999 and began delivering for FedEx soon thereafter, paid $65,000 for the truck, and is hopeful to see a return on his investment in less than three years. He has had the Ford F-59 on the road since December, and is already experiencing lower fuel and maintenance costs. He said he added the truck to his 30-truck fleet for safety and environmental reasons.
“On the safety side, the truck is super quiet, and drivers can focus more on driving safely without hearing a diesel engine rumbling, and shelves bouncing around in the back,” he said. “And from an emissions standpoint, exhaust from a diesel truck has a tendency to back-draft into the driver compartment. That’s not an issue with propane, as there are no emissions whatsoever.”
Chase said that with propane, it’s easier to forecast how much he’ll need, and lock in on lower prices. In December, he said the price was about $1.72 per equivalent gallon of propane, but today, it’s about $3.
“Once prices stabilize that’ll be corrected,” he said. “In the summer months, when the price is much cheaper, I’ll be able to contract my usage for the year and lock into those prices.”
The truck has a 65-gallon fuel tank and lowers carbon dioxide emissions by about 105,000 pounds over the lifetime of operation compared to gasoline-powered counterparts. According to RoushCleanTech.com propane, when used as an on-road engine fuel, it is called propane autogas. Chase plans to install a private propane station as he is adding three more ROUSH CleanTech Ford F-59s to his fleet by year-end.
Chase is exploring ways to build his own fueling station on site, and hopes to work with FedEx Ground to get a station built on the site of the terminal.
He also is looking into buying a couple more trucks this year/The Ford Transit, he said, includes a propane up-fit as an option. That model, he said, would be ideal for home deliveries.
(By David Bertola)
