COLUMBUS, IN — The heavy-duty truck market is adopting natural gas at a slower rate than predicted, according to a report from ACT Research.
Natural-gas-powered truck sales grew at about the same rate as the truck market as a whole in 2014. Sales for 2014 are expected to total 11,000 units, which is up 27 percent from 2013.
"Expectations have fallen from our initial analysis,” said Ken Vieth, general manager at ACT. “Factors contributing to the shifting return on investment results include the price of diesel and meaningful improvements in overall fuel economy.”
Among the remaining barriers for the natural-gas market are the price gap between natural-gas and diesel vehicles and early-stage infrastructure build-out.
'The chicken and egg issue of infrastructure is being solved, albeit slowly, but the price of natural-gas-powered equipment still needs to be addressed, and this won’t be solved overnight,” Vieth said. “That’s why we call it an evolution and not a revolution.”
The study also asked trucking industry leaders to look to the longer-term future of natural gas and offered insights based on extensive interviews, research and analysis. Participants in the study included manufacturers, suppliers, fleet operators, the fueling industry and other interested parties.
