From the New York Times' Wheels blog:
Frito-Lay Pledges a Major Shift Toward Natural-Gas Trucking
On Tuesday, Frito-Lay announced it would add 67 trucks that would run on compressed natural gas, known as C.N.G., to its fleet. Eventually, the company said, a majority of its longer-range vehicles would run on C.N.G., as well as liquefied natural gas for longer-distance hauls.
The C.N.G.-powered trucks would save the equivalent of $2.50 a gallon compared with diesel at current prices, as well as reduce greenhouse emissions by 23 percent when compared with diesel rigs, the company said. Currently, 18 trucks burning natural gas in 8.9-liter Cummins Westport engines are undergoing a pilot test.
“The good news is that it’s a win-win for us, both in terms of our sustainability strategy and reducing our costs,” Michael O’Connell, senior director of fleet capability at Frito-Lay, said in an interview. “The payback for the extra cost of the natural gas trucks is a year and a half, so it’s a little bit of a no-brainer. We retire approximately 125 tractors a year, and we plan to replace as many of them as we can with natural gas.” He said it could take six to seven years to convert all of the company’s tractor-trailers.
Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, operates the seventh largest private delivery fleet in the United States....MORE
