U.P.S. to cut costs, introduce fleet of trucks that run on liquefied natural gasU.P.S. is accustomed to dealing with shocks to oil prices. It operates a fleet of trucks and planes that consume massive amounts of energy. Nonetheless, in an effort to cut costs and improve efficiency the company is set to deploy trucks powered by liquefied natural gas.

Typically, large trucking units are powered by diesel, The New York Times reports. However, diesel prices have soared over the past few years - topping $5 per gallon in 2008.
Executives from U.P.S. affirm that their "thirstiest" trucks are the over-the-road 18-wheelers, and instead of powering them with diesel as it has in the past, the company will soon add 48 trucks to its fleet that are powered by liquefied natural gas.

Michael G. Britt Sr., the director of maintenance and engineering at U.P.S., affirms liquefied natural gas is "the only long term viable option to diesel." Britt asserts that U.P.S. is always looking to cut costs in its tractor trailing trucking unit because they use roughly 20,000 to 30,000 gallons of gasoline each year to run - at a huge cost to the company.

Natural gas prices per million B.T.U. currently run in the range of $4 to $4.50 and there is ample supply after the government upped its estimate on domestic reserves following the expansion of a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing. In the new fleet of liquefied natural gas trucks, U.P.S. expects its diesel use to fall about 95 percent.  
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