Saddle Creek, a nationwide third-party logistics provider, is buying alternative fuel vehicles for its for-hire fleet as part of a commitment to sustainability, the company said. It has agreed to purchase 40 Freightliner natural gas trucks and plans to add 40 more in early 2012.


Freightliner's Business Class M2 112 tractors with Cummins ISL-G engines run on compressed natural gas, which significantly reduces emissions over diesel, Saddle Creek said. Its new tractors will reduce the fleet's carbon footprint by approximately 103,000 pounds per truck each year, or the equivalent of planting 85,760 trees, an announcement said.

The natural gas vehicles are also quieter than their diesel counterparts. When idling, the entire fleet of 40 alternative fuel tractors will produce the same decibel level as just four diesel trucks.

"Because the cost of natural gas is less volatile than diesel, it allows us to have more control over our fuel costs, and our customers to have a more stable fuel surcharge," said Mike DelBovo, Saddle Creek's president.

Saddle Creek is expected to take delivery of the natural gas trucks by the end of the year and plans to be fully operational in early 2012. The trucks will be based at the 3PL's headquarters in Lakeland, Fla., and will handle deliveries throughout the Florida peninsula and southern Georgia.

To fuel the trucks, Saddle Creek is building a CNG station at Lakeland. The contract to build and maintain the station has been awarded to Clean Energy.

The CNG fleet is the most recent in a series of sustainability initiatives for Saddle Creek. The company's transportation division is a SmartWay Transportation Partner and has incorporated a number of programs designed to minimize the fleet's environmental footprint, including adding trailer skirts, using low rolling-resistance tires, and utilizing PeopleNet software to optimize fleet performance.

For more information: < a href=http://www.saddlecrk.com/CNG.aspx">www.saddlecrk.com