FedEx Freight has announced it will be purchasing more than 800 new tractors equipped with Cummins engines this year.

A regional less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, FedEx Freight currently has a fleet of about 9,000 tractors and 25,000 trailers. A total of 836 new tractors will be added to the fleet during fiscal year 2004. The new units will replace older equipment as well as increase the overall size of the fleet. FedEx Freight is a subsidiary of FedEx Corp.
"Our decision to purchase new tractors, with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)-compliant engines, is in keeping with our commitment to do the right thing for our employees, our customers and the communities we serve," said Dennis Beal, vice president of physical assets for FedEx Freight. "We want to provide our employees with the best tools possible to do their jobs safely, ensure high levels of service for our customers and do our part to preserve the environment."
FedEx Freight said it selected the Cummins engine because of its quality and compliance with current EPA requirements.
"We researched a number of options prior to choosing Cummins. We were looking for a balance between compliance, performance and cost," said Beal.
Tom Kieffer, Cummins’ executive director of marketing, said, "Our heavy-duty engines have logged more than 171 million miles of in-service experience since the ISX became the first engine certified and compliant to the 2002 EPA standard over one year ago. With the longest standard maintenance intervals available, it continues to provide the lowest cost of ownership compared to the competition."