Battery electric breakthrough
MAJOR UNITED STATES TRANSPORT OPERATOR Schneider has placed an order for 50 Freightliner eCascadias, in a breakthrough into mainstream heavy-duty trucking for battery-electric trucks.
The trucking and logistics major will begin putting the eCascadias to work in Southern California next year.
Its order comes with funding support from the Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative ( JETSI) – which is sponsored by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD), California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC).
Schneider’s Freightliner order follows six months of trials with an eCascadia through Freightliner’s Customer Experience fleet.
Performance Team, a warehousing and distribution company that’s owned by Maritime transportation and logistics giant Maersk, is also going electric – with an order for 16 Volvo VNR Electric HD trucks.
Volvo North America says it’s the largest order so far for its zero emissions model – the deal also part-funded by California’s South Coast AQMD. It meets the air quality organisation’s aims of reducing emissions in the transportation sector by replacing diesel power with electric trucks and creating new charging infrastructure.
The Volvos will carry regional loads daily to customers across Southern California, servicing Performance Teams’ warehousing and distribution network of 45 locations – as part of a 215-truck fleet.
In New York, beer is now being delivered by a fleet of five Volvo VNR Electrics bought by Manhattan Beer Distributors.
The transport operator has had a low-emissions focus since the 1990s and today operates more than 160 Volvo CNG trucks within a 400-strong fleet.
Support funding for its new BEV Volvos have come from New York State and NY City’s Clean Trucks Programme.
To support the charging of the VNRs, Manhattan Beer Distributors has installed three Level 3 DC fast chargers at its Bronx facility, capable of recharging the electric trucks in 70 minutes (up to 80%).
Its trucks were the first full serial production VNR Electrics to be built by Volvo North America.
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TRANSDIESEL HAS EXTENDED ITS PUMP-OVER TRUCK bulk lubricant delivery service into the South Island market.
“We first debuted a pump-over truck in the North Island about 12 months ago and, based on its overwhelming success, decided to launch one to assist our customers throughout the Mainland,” says Jason Steele, TransDiesel business manager for Shell Lubricants.
The pump-over truck has,he says,achieved significant operational efficiency as well as cost reductions for customers as they only pay for what they use.
The Scania R500 8x4 has lockable diffs to provide manoeuvrability, stability and traction.
It can carry and pump from both intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and barrels, as well as transporting smaller packs loaded on pallets.
It’s able to pump three products simultaneously at high flow rates to offload large volumes in a short period. This means less time spent onsite and fewer disruptions to the end customer, while eliminating drums and other packaging means significant space-saving in workshops.
The delivery truck is capable of delivering consumables ranging from light hydraulic fluids all the way through to heavy gear oils. It will also be pumping a full portfolio of heavy-duty diesel Rimula engine oils for heavy-equipment users, and passenger car oils for automotive garages and commercial fleet operators.
The heavy-duty truck will soon be joined by a smaller around town truck for local service. It can operate in tighter spaces, further enhancing support of TransDiesel’s 16 company-owned branches nationwide.
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