US and Canadian Class 8 natural gas truck retail sales for the first eight months of year outpaced the same period in 2021 by 18%, as published in the quarterly report, Alternative Fuels Quarterly, just released by ACT Research. Although retail sales of NG Class 8 trucks are up, fueling infrastructure continues to contract.
The ACT Alternative Fuels Quarterly provides insight, analysis, and trends about alternative fuel/power adoption for the US heavy- and medium-duty commercial vehicle markets. It is designed to give quick insights to anyone with an interest in the evolution of power and alternative fuel use for heavy vehicles. The AFQ details such adoption considerations as fuel prices, fuel/charging infrastructure development, equipment prices/products/technological developments, and regulatory changes. NG truck sales data and a forecast for new natural gas adoption are included.
“Sales of natural gas (NG)-powered vehicles, as reported by the six major truck OEMs, who account for approximately 60% of the heavy-duty (HD) NG market, were mixed in the June to August time period, with June dropping 33% y/y, July surging 204% compared to last July, and August up 20% versus a year ago,” said Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research. He continued, “In the near term, June was relatively benign compared to May (-4%), while July spiked 82% m/m. Unable to maintain, volumes pulled back 33% from July to August. Combined, sales in the three-month period extended and increased the ytd gain, with the first eight months of the year outpacing the same period in 2021 by 18%.”
Regarding fueling and charging infrastructure, Tam commented, “there were 822 public compressed natural gas (CNG) stations open in the US in mid-September 2022, the vast majority of which can accommodate a heavy-duty (HD) vehicle. The liquid NG (LNG) station count at the same period was 54, with all able to serve Class 8 vehicles. This translates to 15 fewer public CNG station and no change to the number of public LNG station since mid-June 2022.” He added, “Given the existing station count’s downward trajectory, it isn’t a surprise that planned CNG stations are also contracting. On a year-over-year basis, the number of planned private CNG stations was unchanged while planned public stations have declined more than 38%."
Tam concluded with, “it is worth noting that private US stations also exist and are being planned. These currently include 4,572 existing stations and 6 planned sites, a decrease of 31 existing stations from last quarter, but we presume these are temporarily offline, rather than shuttered.”
ACT Research is recognized as the leading publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer, and bus industry data, market analysis and forecasts for the North America and China markets. ACT’s analytical services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as banking and investment companies. ACT Research is a contributor to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators and a member of the Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Panel. ACT Research executives have received peer recognition, including election to the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics, appointment as Consulting Economist to the National Private Truck Council, and the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Economic Indicators’ Most Accurate Economic Forecast over a four-year period. ACT Research senior staff members have earned accolades including Chicago Federal Reserve Automotive Outlook Symposium Best Overall Forecast, Wall Street Journal Top Economic Outlook, and USA Today Top 10 Economic Forecasters. More information can be found at www.actresearch.net.
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