EVs

Taki Darakos, Pitt Ohio’s fleet manager who oversees the acquisition and maintenance of 1,550 company-owned tractors and box trucks, testified before Congress on the technological, operational and financial challenges fleets face as federal and state regulations mandate the adoption of battery-electric trucks.

As the Biden administration moves ahead with planned deployment of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electric charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure from 2024 to 2040, trucking industry officials are warning of excessive costs associated with such electrification.

There’s safety in numbers and in cooperation. That’s what three major worldwide heavy truck manufacturers seem to be saying in getting ready for vehicle electrification. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) Volvo Trucks North America, Navistar and Daimler Truck North America are trying to reduce transportation's carbon footprint by taking a collective approach.

Earlier this week, Miami-based Miami-based freight transportation and logistics services provider Ryder System Inc. heralded the initial rollout of its BrightDrop Zevo 600 electric vans at four strategic facilities in California, Texas, and New York.

The need for freight transportation and logistics stakeholders to reduce emissions, collaborate on mutually-beneficial contracts, and deal with fluctuating linehaul rates were among the key themes in the “2023 State of Transportation” study, which was issued today by Green Bay, Wisc.-based Breakthrough.

The company will introduce 4,000 BrightDrop Zevo 600 and Zevo 400 electric vans to its lease and rental fleet through 2025, adding that the first 200 will be ordered in 2023. And it added that the Zevo 600 and Zevo 400 electric vans have a 250-mile range on a full charge, while supporting a payload of roughly 2,000-to-3,400 pounds.