Sales Spike Suggests Rising Interest in Natural Gas Trucks

Interest in natural gas-powered trucks appears to be on the rise, a new survey shows. 

Retail sales of Class 8 natural gas trucks in the U.S. and Canada are up 18 percent through the first eight months of 2022 versus the same timeframe in 2021, according to an ACT Research report. 

While sales dropped 33 percent year-over-year in June, they gained 204 percent in July and 20 percent in August using the same metrics, the report shows, leading to an overall gain. 

ACT also showed that fueling and charging infrastructure have contracted year-over-year, with the number of planned public compressed natural gas (CNG) stations declining more than 38 percent. The number of planned private CNG stations is unchanged, according to the report. 

“There were 822 public [CNG] stations open in the U.S. in mid-September 2022, the vast majority of which can accommodate a heavy-duty (HD) vehicle,” stated Steve Tam, ACT vice president. “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 stations and no change to the number of public LNG stations since mid-June 2022.”