Matheson Postal Services, a contract carrier for the United States Postal Service, is adding 37 new compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas tractors to its fleet as part of a company-wide program to expand clean energy use.

Matheson has added 25 new CNG –powered and 12 LNG-powered trucks to its fleet to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and diesel fuel consumption on postal routes. The LNG Kenworth T880 day cabs are being deployed in Oakland, Calif., in January and the CNG Kenworth T680's are being deployed to Boise, Idaho.

The company is partnering with Kenworth, Agility Fuel Systems and Clean Energy Fuels to spec the tractors for its fleet.

Matheson is in the process of taking delivery of eight additional CNG T680 sleeper cabs for its Los Angeles to Seattle runs.

Matheson Postal Services is a division of Sacramento-based Matheson Trucking.

"We plan to increase our inventory of green CNG tractors in the fleet wherever it is practical and cost effective to do so, and while diesel may still have an edge on long-haul routes, Matheson wants to move in a positive, responsible direction by becoming less dependent on fossil fuel," said Joshua Matheson, vice president of operations.

"With a conservative range of 704 miles on a full tank, these CNG tractors are ideal for shorter routes where refueling may not be required for a roundtrip,” said Jason Criner, Matheson’s Boise shop manager. “However, both Boise and Salt Lake are within the range of local fueling companies, which makes these regions a great place to start deploying CNG-fueled tractors.”

Last year, Matheson also acquired 22 fuel-efficient diesel Kenworth T680 sleepers for use in Seattle and is currently deploying 24 additional diesel Kenworth T680 sleepers for use on a variety of the firm's Salt Lake City routes. With these additions, Matheson is operating a fleet of 262 trucks in its nationwide network.