UPS looks to bolster propane-powered delivery fleet

UPS Inc. is preparing to make a major commitment to propane, Tucker Perkins announced at the July meeting of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC).

PERC’s chief business development officer says a project is in the works for UPS to demonstrate 20 propane-fueled package delivery units over a four-month period, beginning in mid-September, in Georgia. If all goes as planned, the company would consider a significant purchase in 2014, Perkins says.

Freightliner Custom Chassis would fulfill the order of step van chassis on its factory floor in Gaffney, S.C., Perkins says. The vehicle would run on a GM 6.0-liter engine, with a CleanFuel USA liquid propane injection system and calibration by Powertrain Integration.

UPS currently runs 875 propane-fueled units worldwide, Perkins says.