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Fred Meyer Stores, a division of The Kroger Co. has announced the arrival of the first 11 heavy-duty trucks that run on LNG. Fred Meyer will receive a total of 40 LNG trucks over the next several months, making Fred Meyer the first in Oregon to deploy a fleet of heavy-duty LNG trucks.
The new LNG trucks will replace 40 diesel trucks currently in use, and will deliver product to Fred Meyer stores as far south as Corvallis, Oregon, and as far north as Longview, Washington. Some of the 40 diesel trucks will be used to replace older, less efficient diesel trucks in the fleet.
“Fred Meyer is pleased to be the first in Kroger’s process of transitioning the Kroger fleet to alternative fuels,” said Lynn Gust, president of Fred Meyer Stores. “Converting to LNG trucks allows us to reinvest savings into lower prices while also providing a great benefit to the environment.”
The trucks will average approximately 175 miles per day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year. The trucks are manufactured at Freightliner’s North Carolina plant.
The fleet will be fueled at a new, private LNG fueling station at Fred Meyer’s Clackamas Distribution Center, which has been designed and engineered by Clean Energy Fuels Corp. Clean Energy will also supply the LNG for the fueling station, and once all 40 trucks are active, Clean Energy will supply the approximately one million gallons a year needed to service them.
“LNG is a viable alternative fuel for Kroger in the future,” said Ashley White, logistics sustainability manager for The Kroger Co. “It will serve as a bridge between traditional fossil fuels and emerging renewable fuels and technologies. We are committed to this very important work.”
Above: Kroger Dedicated Logistics Freightliner LNG Truck on display at the 2014 ACT Expo in Long Beach, California.
