Albertson's, Inc. LNG Class 8 Tractor Project

Alberson's Grocery Company purchased 15 liquefied natural gas class 8 tractors for use in their grocery distrubition business. This was part of a larger demonstration program conducted by Alberson's to evaluate the feasibility of using LNG vehicles in their day to day business operations. The MSRC co-funded the purchase of one (1) vehicle. The remaining fourteen (14) vehicles were co-funded by Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC). Alberson's conducted two feasibility evaluations of the LNG vehicles. The first encompassed the period from January 1, 2001 through February 28, 2002. The second evaluation period commenced March 1, 2002 and was completed August 31, 2002. The results of the feasibiliy studies were documented in two reports dated April 23, 2002 and October 10, 2002, respectively. At this time, Albertsons does not intend to pursue conversion of their fleet to LNG. According to Albertson's, the average cost per mile for the LNG vehicles was $0.38, compared to $0.19 per mile for a comparable diesel tractor. Thus, Alberton's states that in their experience, LNG vehicle costs per mile exceed their diesel fleet vehicle costs by a factor of two. Alberson's also reported that their average fuel economy for diesel fueled trucks was 6.85 miles per gallon. The LNG trucks averaged 3.15 miles per gallon. This is lower than expected based upon an energy equivalency calculation. Finally, Alberson's states that vehicle maintenance and repair costs were higher for LNG trucks as compared to their diesel trucks. The average maintenance and repair costs for LNG trucks was $0.018 per mile; the diesel average was $0.005 per mile.