Another study, by the National Petroleum Council, determined that natural gas vehicles could capture half of the light- and heavy-duty truck market and 35% of the medium-duty market by the year 2050. Already, there has been significant progress in this market, with several companies having invested aggressively in nat-gas-powered trucks.
Natural gas making inroads in trucking
For instance, United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) recently announced that it will buy about 700 natural gas vehicles by the end of 2014, adding to its current fleet of 112 18-wheelers than run on LNG. The package delivery company said its trucks will use engines manufactured by Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI), under a joint venture with another engine manufacturer, Westport Innovations, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:WPRT) .
Another major freight services company, FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX), is also investigating the benefits of natural gas. The company is currently running tests – using two LNG-powered and two CNG-powered trucks – to determine whether or not to convert more of its 90,000 motorized vehicles to run on the cleaner-burning fuel. The company’s chairman and CEO, Frederick W. Smith, said he expects 5%-30% of long-distance trucks to run on CNG or LNG over the next decade, as costs fall and the number of fueling stations rises.
One stock to play the shift to NGVs
One company investing heavily in natural gas fueling stations in Texas, as well as across the country, is Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE). The California-based company is the largest provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America and already fuels tens of thousands of vehicles every day at various locations across the United States and Canada.
“We’re building out a national network of LNG stations that will allow truckers to travel pretty much from coast to coast and border to border. And we’re filling in some of the other major routes, such as the Texas Triangle,” said Gary Foster, a spokesman for the company. Clean Energy Fuels Corp (NASDAQ:CLNE) boasts both LNG and CNG fueling stations, many of which are located strategically at truck stops across the country, including a handful in Houston and the Dallas-Forth Worth area, and one or two in Austin.
The article A Shift Toward Natural Gas Vehicles originally appeared on Fool.com.
Motley Fool contributor Arjun Sreekumar has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Clean Energy Fuels, Cummins, FedEx, United Parcel (NYSE:UPS) Service, and Westport Innovations. The Motley Fool owns shares of Cummins and Westport Innovations.
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