Ryder announced that it and Staples have agreed to add 10 heavy-duty compressed natural gas tractors to Ryder's dedicated fleet servicing Staples, the world's largest office products company.


The CNG tractors will replace 10 diesel tractors currently used by Ryder for Staples, and have been made available through Ryder's natural gas vehicle project agreement with the San Bernardino Associated Governments in Southern California.

The $38.7 million Ryder/SANBAG project is part of a public/private partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, the Southern California Association of Governments Clean Cities Coalition, and Ryder. The project includes 202 natural gas vehicles, upgrades to three maintenance facilities for the proper servicing of natural gas vehicles, and the construction of two fueling stations.

Staples has been a Ryder Dedicated Contract Carriage customer for 19 years.

The CNG tractors will be used to transport inventory to Staples stores in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and the Inland Empire, and will be serviced out of Ryder's network of natural gas compliant maintenance facilities in Southern California.

According to Ryder, CNG vehicles produce 20-30% less emissions than comparable diesel vehicles, and natural gas costs as much as 42% less per equivalent gallon of diesel.

For more information: www.ryder.com