ACT Research Co LLC has published a natural gas (NG) research report on the viability of natural gas as a long-term fuel for transportation of heavy freight in the United States. The focus is on Class 8 vehicles.
The 180-page report includes a base case forecast as well as Excel spreadsheets to calculate the NG vehicle payback and the diesel gallon equivalent (DGE) price at the pump. The study surveyed owner-operators, fleets, leasing firms, finance companies, component suppliers, engine manufacturers, and OEMs. It also compiled an extensive library of articles. Purchasers of the report will receive a presentation of 85 PowerPoint slides and have the option of an on-site review of the project.
“This project originated in October 2011,” says Ken W. Vieth, senior partner and general manager of ACT. “It was evident to us that natural gas was going to be a hot topic and that there was a need for an in-depth research study. Most of the OEMs at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville (KY) earlier this year displayed trucks that were fueled by natural gas.”
The study examines the supply and production of natural gas, the infrastructure for distributing the product to the market, trucker willingness to use natural gas, and the OEMs' ability to produce trucks fueled with NG. The study concludes with an estimate of the use of NG in the United States long term.
For more information on ACT’s NG study, please go to http://www.actresearch.net