FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), has made significant
progress towards its goal to make its vehicle fleet 20 percent more fuel
efficient by 2020, announcing today that the FedEx Express vehicle fleet
is now 16.6 percent more fuel efficient through FY2011 than it was in
2005. Twenty percent of the FedEx Express diesel vehicle pickup and
delivery fleet has already been converted to more efficient and cleaner
emission models that comply with 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency diesel emission standards.
FedEx Express, a unit of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), has made significant progress towards its goal to make its vehicle fleet 20 percent more fuel efficient by 2020, announcing today that the FedEx Express vehicle fleet is now 16.6 percent more fuel efficient through FY2011 than it was in 2005. (Photo: Business Wire)
"Although we are less than halfway to the end date we set for ourselves,
we have achieved 80 percent of our vehicle fuel efficiency goal as of
the conclusion of fiscal year 2011, compared to our original baseline
set in 2005," said Mitch Jackson, staff vice president of environmental
affairs and sustainability, FedEx Corp. "As a result, we are
reevaluating our 2020 goal to potentially raise the standard we
originally set out to achieve."
"Thanks to this team effort, we have converted 20 percent of our pickup
and delivery fleet to cleaner and more fuel efficient models," said
Dennis Beal, vice president of global vehicles, FedEx Express. "By
pursuing the most promising avenues of advanced technologies, enlisting
multiple experienced manufacturers and optimizing our vehicle
operations, FedEx is reducing fuel use and emissions faster than
expected."
The company's significant progress is the result of a number of
initiatives:
-
Upcoming addition of 87 all-electric trucks to its green fleet
bringing the all-electric vehicle count to 130.
-
Acceleration of its efforts in fuel conservation through the purchase
of vehicles with right-sized engines like the Sprinter vans
manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. By the end of FY13, FedEx will have
more than 11,000 such vehicles in service, more than 35 percent of its
U.S. pick-up and delivery fleet. Each Sprinter-type van is about 70 to
100 percent more fuel-efficient than the original truck it replaces.
-
Addition of 114 Reach composite-body trucks manufactured from advanced
materials by Utilimaster on an Isuzu Motors chassis with an
appropriately-sized engine. The lower weight design, along with the
engine, is expected to save up to 35 percent in fuel over most
conventional walk-in vans.
-
Testing of FedEx Ground hybrid hydraulic parcel delivery vehicles that
can reduce fuel usage by 40 percent.
-
Testing of six standard delivery vehicles retrofitted with
all-electric drivetrains from various suppliers, including AMP, Smith
Electric and Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation.
The electric truck initiative is aimed not only at improving FedEx fleet
efficiency, but also in accelerating the development of all-electric
trucks that could compete favorably with traditional vehicles for all
users. "While we naturally want to improve performance and reduce costs
for FedEx, we also want to see all-electric trucks become more
affordable and reliable for everyone from your local pizza parlor to
other small businesses that deliver," said Jackson. "This is a strategy
for reducing reliance on petroleum-based fuels in a much faster, more
inclusive and impactful way."
FedEx chairman and CEO Frederick W. Smith is co-chair of the
organization Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE). He has long been
focused on the use of domestic fuel sources, including electricity, to
power urban vehicles in the United States.
The new FedEx all-electric (EV) vehicles are being deployed in the next
few months in numerous locations which include California (the San
Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and the
Central Valley); suburban Washington, D.C. (Rockville, M.D.); New York
City and several locations in Texas. In Chicago, FedEx is testing
electric trucks from several manufacturers head-to-head in daily service
to accelerate the development of the vehicles and the EV industry.
Additional all-electric trucks are being prepared for deployment in Asia
and Europe, where FedEx Express currently operates all-electric trucks
in London and Paris.
Fleet users present an added advantage for all-electric technology,
since electric trucks can operate during the day and charge overnight
when utilities have spare capacity. FedEx Express is currently working
with General Electric and Columbia University on a project in New York
City to optimize charging facilities for all-electric trucks.
"Electric drivelines have a tremendous potential, and we are seeing the
benefits of integrating them into our fleet, but the technology is still
in the early phase of the development cycle," added Beal. "That's why we
are aggressively working with several truck manufacturers to
fast-forward their products' performance curve and affordability."
About FedEx
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with
a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services.
With annual revenues of $42 billion, the company offers integrated
business applications through operating companies competing collectively
and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand.
Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted
employers, FedEx inspires its more than 300,000 team members to remain
"absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and
professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities.
For more information, visit news.fedex.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50280443&lang=en
FedEx Media Relations
Jenny Robertson, 901-434-8100
jenny.robertson@fedex.com
United Kingdom
France
Deutschland
Schweiz (DE)
