To 2014....and BEYOND!!!!

Their is a CNG station near me in Osawatomie KS selling CNG for 1.799 gal.
It takes 4 gal of CNG to equal 1 gal of diesel.
4 x 1.799 = 7.196$ vs 4$ or so for diesel.
And you need to carry 400 gal of CNG to replace 100 gal of diesel.
So how is CNG cheaper?

 

Wow, thanks for that info! I will get with my neighbors and tell them we have been getting ripped off having to pay crop insurance premiums!

True, farmers get some things that most other folks don't... like regulatory issues regarding wetlands that if you have a puddle on your farm that lasts for longer than 30 days, you run the risk that the government will mandate taking that land out of production and it is declared wetland for conservation purposes. Also, you have to get approval of dept of ag when you plan crop planting to see if they will let you plant the amount of corn, soybeans, or whatever you want. And yes, they have different sets of rules regarding taxation. But then so does every other business entity. But mostly, equipment depreciation schedules, building depreciation schedules, and most other business activity is similar to other business'. And, of course, it depends on whether the farm is a corporation or not. Not all family farms are incorporated.

 

And individual home owners get federally subsidized flood insurance. So what it your point? And likewise, go to IRS' website and see the differences between running a factory and trucking, energy development and trucking, capital investment firm and trucking, or what ever business you want to compare to trucking. Of course there are differences. But that doesn't make either one better or worse than the other. And when it comes to physical structures, the depreciation for a shop building is the same for a farmer as it is for a trucking company. Regarding conservation, installation of farmland drain tile to better control water table flucuations, terraces on hill sides for erosion control, etc is not funded by the government. In some cases, state conservation offices may provide some "seed" money for these projects, but they are not fully funded. And even though the bill is paid for by the farmer, they still have to get approval from some bureaucrat to do these projects, and have to have it inspected and get final approval. Many think trucking is bogged down with regulation and bureaucratic headaches, and it is. But, man, try running a farm, feed lot, etc. A person cannot even raise and feed out a steer or two or some goats on a hobby farm unless these critters are tagged or chipped, and registered with the Dept of Ag. Some do not comply with this requirement, but it is a risk nonetheless, and can be a costly one.

And I haven't even touched upon the headaches in dealing with a state Dept of Natural Resources, which is its own little facist regime. but then if I thought much about that one, along with what we are discussing, I would have to duct tape my head to keep it from exploding. Oh... and how the EPA is now having the military fly the same type of drones they use in Afghanistan around the countryside and keeping tabs on farms like we are a bunch of Al Queda terrorists. No conspiracy theory here, it is well documented. And truckers think EOBR's are so bad.

 

How about this calculation Miles driven divided by cost to fill up = $ per mile. From what I've heard its a very small advatage to NG but at the moment there is no road tax on NG and the price of NG is low right now. Unless you have your own gas well out back I'd stay with diesel.

 

Then why are the test fleets in Canada avg 1.5 to1.8 mpg per on CNG?
Why did the western provinces change the tractor length law to allow more CNG tanks?

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/09/27/edmonton-cn-natural-gas-train.html

Looks like the rail lines are giving a kick at the can now.

 

SAQ in quebec did a long term test and decided a 20 year break even wasnt worth it . cr england cites extremely high maintainence costs in a article i read

 

I guess I'll weigh in. CNG is making progress, but will be at least 5+ years for it to be viable in OTR just due to infastruture issues. FedEx has been running CNG from LA to Las Vegas and other western cities for the past few years. Their CNG setup is actually pretty interesting and many fleets could learn alot from it. My father owns a local garbage company (http://nattransport.com/) and just recently put his first CNG truck on the road. For his operation it works pretty good. The motor is a little short on HP, but it does the job. He is just getting the bugs worked out so I can't give much more info out. I will say he has stated to me many times that if he had a steadt dedicated gig running containers or freight from NW Ohio to Chicago he would buy CNG daycabs in a heartbeat. The problem would be getting drivers to follow directions as to how to drive, what roads, and a couple other issues. We ran the numbers and with todays rates the profits would be pretty good compared to a normal diesel operation.

As for the FET being dropped as a incentive to buy new "EPA" motors...I still wouldn't buy one until they have proven themselves. Yes the FET is a chunk of change, but it is pocket change compared to the amount of lost money from downtime, parts, labor, and other associated breakdown costs. I will run my current 379 setup for a couple more years with my ear to the ground for info. After that time frame if no major changes have been made compared to where we stand today I will be buying a T660 and installing a modified ACERT. The cost of a new truck (with a "EPA" motor) is just to high when warranty support isn't there to cover all the issues associated with the technology. I do not see speed limitors being set like EU...they have a totally different road system. I do however see a speed limit of say 65-70 being set. I do not agree with it as it is another goverment mandate that isn't needed.

More energy savings could be had by just making logistics work better and smarter. I deal with LTL shipments everyday and it still amazes me at the stupidity at some shippers. The company I am leased to has the right idea...go into a shipper and say "we will handle all your LTL shipping needs". Doing this we can schedule and plan mroe effiecently with other shippers and make huge progress in fuel management, rates, service, and food safety. I do not see shippers workking with other shippers in the near future just because many managment type do not have the skills, time, or temperment to make this happen.