Saddle Creek Logistics Services has signed an agreement with Ryder System to lease compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in two markets.
Saddle Creek will lease 30 vehicles and operate them in the Dallas/Fort Worth region. The trucks will be maintained at Ryder’s Fort Worth service facility. An additional truck will operate in Saddle Creek’s Shreveport, LA, fleet and be maintained at a Ryder facility in Shreveport.
“Ryder is leveraging its leadership in natural gas to make it as easy as possible for customers to implement sustainable transportation solutions that also enable them to realize meaningful cost-savings and efficiencies,” said Dennis Cooke, Ryder president of Global Fleet Management Solutions. “When businesses want the most experience, knowledge, and expertise in natural gas vehicle solutions, they turn to Ryder.”
Saddle Creek is a family-owned, third-part logistics provider offering integrated logistics services across the contiguous 48 states. Saddle Creek will take delivery of the new CNG vehicles during the first quarter of 2014.
The CNG vehicles are part of a strategic initiative by Saddle Creek to reduce its carbon footprint and control fuel costs. The company already has more than 100 CNG tractors in its fleet of 430 vehicles, making it one of the largest CNG over the road tractor fleet in operation in the country. Saddle Creek also invested in its own fueling station at its Lakeland, FL headquarters.
“Saddle Creek’s environmentally friendly CNG program has enabled us to be extremely successful in supporting our customers’ sustainability efforts. We are excited to expand our CNG capabilities to the Dallas/Ft. Worth market with the help of leased tractors and maintenance from Ryder,” said Saddle Creek President Mike DelBovo. “Because this is such a leading-edge technology, relationships like the one we have established with Ryder are critical to our success.”
The natural gas vehicles are being made available through Ryder’s participation in the Texas Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program (TNGVGP), funded by the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) initiatives and administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
