Hirschbach, Lineage Logistics Deploy Electric Yard Trucks

Hirschbach Motor Lines has deployed five Orange EV battery-electric yard trucks to Lineage Logistics facilities in the Kansas City area.

Hirschbach, based in Dubuque, Iowa, is providing zero-emission spotting services for two Lineage facilities in Kansas. Lineage’s core business is storing, handling, and transporting temperature-controlled food products.

“The Spot by Hirschbach team has been focused on bringing technology into the customer yards that we service, and Orange EV’s electric yard trucks are an exciting next step for us to continue to do the right thing for our customer, our driver team, and the environment,” said Kevin Lage, Hirschbach’s senior director commercial team. “Our goal is to have 20% of our spotter fleet converted to EV by Q3 of 2023.”

Orange EV trucks use electricity and have a maximum powertrain efficiency of more than 90%. At the Lineage sites in Kansas, Hirschbach operates Orange EV yard trucks up to 20 hours a day, six days a week. Under these heavy-use conditions, switching from diesel to electric eliminates more than 100 tons of carbon dioxide per truck annually along with diesel particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and other pollutants emitted as a result of diesel combustion, according to the announcement.

To further reduce carbon emissions, Lineage has deployed 10 additional Orange EV yard trucks at sites in California. Five of those Lineage-owned units operate at the Lineage Colton-Agua Mansa facility in Colton, California, the first facility in the Lineage network able to produce 100% of its energy consumption onsite.

Both Hirschbach and Lineage have long been focused on energy efficiency and supply chain efficiency.

Hirschbach has won multiple EPA SmartWay Excellence Awards, in part by aggressively reducing empty route miles and idling time to reduce emissions and maximize fuel economy.  

Lineage also participates in the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership and has been recognized by the Department of Energy for four consecutive years. Lineage has made a Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Hirschbach recently received Lineage Logistics' first-ever National Truckload Carrier of the Year and Dedicated Truckload Carrier of the Year awards.

“Increasing supply chain efficiency can sometimes require considerable reimagining of operations,” said Zack Ruderman, Orange EV VP of sales and marketing. “Switching to electric yard trucks, however, can be a seamless transition.”

In fact, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency concluded after its first Run on Less - Electric demo that electric yard tractors may be a great first step for fleets interested in learning more about electrification in commercial vehicle applications.