The Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, a generally upbeat event for electric batteries, hydrogen and other emissions-friendly technologies, is being held next week in Las Vegas amid a growing and widespread backlash over the regulation-driven shift to electric trucks.
Nearly every stakeholder — from the trucking industry and driver organizations to state attorneys general — is weighing dire estimates of the crippling costs of the cyclical industry. Ryder System Inc. The latest company dissects commercial electric vehicle ownership in far greater detail than the standard measure of total cost of ownership.
Ryder said she did not work in concert with others who point to higher costs associated with electric vehicles even as her conclusions expand the body of evidence.
Proponents of electric trucks admit that they cost two or three times more to obtain than diesel trucks. But with fewer parts, less maintenance and smart charging practices, the logic is that EVs could reach parity with diesel while significantly reducing air pollution.
The industry is on the defensive against the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency over requirements to purchase electric trucks and air quality standards that can only be achieved by using electricity, which produces no tailpipe emissions.
“A real understanding of the path toward our shared goal of zero emissions is needed, but unrealistic timelines and expectations will cost the bank,” said Chris Speer, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations.
EV transition studies point to higher long-term costs
The Clean Freight Coalition (CFC), a new organization led by industry veteran Jim Mullen, has hired consultant Roland Berger to estimate the cost of fully transitioning to electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Its March report said infrastructure investment alone would reach nearly $1 trillion.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) examined electricity costs nationally and in California, where most electric trucks are targeted because of advanced clean truck rules and advanced clean fleets that together make up a market for them.
ATRI’s final December findings in California: The state’s three largest utilities face an uncertain future. This widens the gap between electricity generation and demand. Californians already pay the second-highest average price for electricity in the country. The loss of charging capacity due to the weight of the battery in heavy trucks will result in more trucks on the road.
ATRI approached the rush to electric trucks from another angle in a report released in April. Its research showed that renewable diesel costs one-sixth the cost of electric cars in reducing CO2 emissions. Renewable diesel is manufactured from non-petroleum sources
The CFC and ATRI work closely with the ATA, which opposes moving too quickly to electric trucks.
Ryder looks at total moving costs, not just total cost of ownership
Ryder’s study looked at the annual total cost of transportation (TCT). This takes into account the cost of the car, maintenance, drivers, range, payload, and diesel versus electricity, rather than the total cost of ownership. It also accounts for the electric vehicle charging time and equivalent delivery times.
“For many of our customers, the business case for switching to electric vehicle technology has not yet arrived, given the limitations of the technology and the lack of adequate charging infrastructure,” said Robert Sanchez, Ryder CEO, in a May 8 press release.
I caught up with Karen Jones, Ryder’s Executive Vice President and Head of New Product Development, to further explain why the trucking logistics leader had his say.
Product development. (Photo: Ryder)
Ryder used her own custom processes as the context for the study. Dedicated Operations serves customers who rely on Ryder to provide trucks, drivers, routing and network planning. The company added the cost of maintenance, fuel, charging time, EV charger, driver pay and benefits, as well as range and payload.
“(It’s) a great lab to have in our backyard with our dedicated fleet to be able to do this analysis,” Jones told me. “This is exactly what we would deploy if a customer came to us and said, ‘I want to do an all-electric fleet.’ Help me understand what that would be like.”
Amazing comparisons
In California, Ryder found net increases in TCT across the board:
- – A Class 4 light duty truck costs 3%, or approximately $5,000, more per year. The vehicle cost was 71% higher and the labor cost was 19% higher, partly due to the additional time required to charge the electric vehicle. Energy costs decreased by 71%, and maintenance costs decreased by 22%.
- – The cost of operating a mid-size Class 6 EV truck is 22%, or an additional $48,000. The cost of purchasing a truck is 216% more than a diesel truck. Fuel costs decreased by 57%, and maintenance costs decreased by 22%. Ryder did not include any compensation from truck purchases or infrastructure incentives, which could be significant in California.
- – The operating cost of a Class 8 battery-powered tractor is 94%, or approximately $315,000. Ryder pegged the acquisition cost at 500% higher than the cost of a diesel truck, again without taking incentives into account.
Labor and equipment costs have also increased. Slow charging times and lost payload space due to the mass of the battery led Ryder to conclude that approximately two tractors would be needed to equal the production of one heavy-duty diesel tractor.
Fleets have so far missed out on the expected gains from electrification
Large fleets like Knight-Swift are seeing the costs themselves and are stopping adopting electric trucks.
“In 2023, we continued to trial zero-emission battery electric vehicles, although we faced obstacles to large-scale implementation, including cost, weight, range and infrastructure, and began testing renewable gas engine tractors,” the company said in 2023. “. Securities and Exchange Commission filing ahead of Tuesday’s annual shareholder meeting.
Ryder began a full-service push around Class 3 light-duty delivery trucks a year ago.
“The cost disparity is not as significant. We have seen some adoption (but) demand is still weak,” Jones said.
The National Truck Equipment Association found that light commercial electric vehicle listings spent increasing amounts of time on its sales platform between March 2022 and December 2023. However, electric truck sales more than doubled to 26,000 last year, mostly in light and medium trucks.
“The value proposition is there in light duty. The demands are there,” Jones said. “But in heavy duty, we haven’t seen that happen yet.”
The momentum of charging infrastructure continues
Despite some concerns about electrification, infrastructure developers remain active.
Forum Mobility began construction Wednesday on the FM Harbor freight depot at the Port of Long Beach. It will serve more than 200 electric transport trucks daily with high-speed charging infrastructure. The site is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
Velocity Truck Rental & Leasing said Monday that 47 high-powered charging stations will be activated this month at four Southern California locations.
Chargepoint will provide a megawatt charging system cable and connector for its Power Link 2000 stations. It is part of the Express Plus DC fast charging platform.
Alternative fuels are gaining popularity
Renewable diesel made from non-fossil fuels and renewable natural gas (RNG) made from dairy waste are becoming popular. Volvo Trucks North America and its sister company Mack Trucks recently began filling new trucks at their plants with hydrotreated vegetable oil. It is said that this could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 75% to 85%. Volvo is also expanding its B100 biodiesel-adapted model offerings globally.
Cummins will begin third-quarter production of the 15-liter X15N natural gas engine with competitive diesel torque and power. When powered by compressed natural gas, there can be negative CO2 emissions. A Cummins executive expects the CNG engine to take a share of up to 10%. Historically, natural gas engines get 1% to 2% penetration.
Kenworth will display its T680 and T880 Class 8 models with the X15N with Hexagon Agilty’s RNG system at the ACT Expo next week. Peterbilt offers rides in its flagship 579 model with the X15N.
Hexagon Agility has signed a three-year extension to a $57.7 million master services agreement with UPS to deliver RNG fuel systems for heavy-duty trucks including the X15N.
“We’ve been going down this path of EVs, EVs, EVs, and I think this will force us to look at other viable alternatives,” Jones said. “I see hybrid continuing, I see hydrogen continuing, I see advanced diesel technology continuing. Trying to force (change) on one path of technology has never seemed like a successful strategy for any industry.
“When the techniques are right, you don’t have to impose them.”
Ryder praises the cooperation between Gatek and Isuzu in the field of self-driving trucks
Gatek and Isuzu’s announcement on Tuesday that Isuzu will invest $30 million in Gatek and jointly produce middle-haul autonomous trucks did not go unnoticed by another investor in Gatek – Rider.
“It’s been a great investment and relationship with them,” Jones said. “Everyone thought long-haul would win the day. Gatik was successful because they had a closed network that could deliver the whole benefit. It’s not just one lane.”
Ryder handles all maintenance work on Gatek vehicles and plans to hold discussions in June about deeper cooperation.
“No one expected these efforts to be short-term, and I think they come from a very strong place,” she said. “They do some really cool things.”
Ryder’s self-driving ambitions led it to simultaneously partner with four Class 8 self-driving truck developers. Most of those have gone by the wayside. But Jones said Ryder could become one of Gatick’s clients as well as an investor. Ryder invested an undisclosed amount in Gatik’s Series B funding round, which raised $85 million in 2021.
Briefly noted…
broke down: Daimler truck and Volvo Group The company is planning a second joint venture covering software-defined heavy trucks. Their first collaboration, called cellcentric, makes heavy-duty fuel cells.
Penske truck rental Its fleet of 445,000 vehicles has joined Promoting commercial transportation in Americaa coalition pushing for more medium- and heavy-duty electric truck infrastructure.
Japan ISUZU MOTORS CO., LTD It will launch a new 6.7-liter engine co-developed with Cumin For medium trucks in Asian markets. The Cummins B6.7 diesel is offered in Isuzu trucks in the United States and Canada.
Volvo Trucks North America It has added 10 locations in three states – Rhode Island, Utah and Washington – as well as the Canadian province of Manitoba to its list of authorized electric vehicle dealers.
Daimler Truck North America Named Kevin Pangston President and CEO of Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. In addition to his role as President and CEO of Thomas Built Buses.
time is passing. You only have until next Friday (May 24) to use this special discount code to save on tickets to the FreightWaves Future of Supply Chain event in Atlanta June 4-5.
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