Oct. 9, 2007 UPS says it has added 306 alternative fuel vehicles to its "green" delivery fleet, placing an order for 167 compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks while taking delivery of 139 new propane trucks in North America.

The CNG trucks, to be deployed early next year in Texas, Georgia, and California, will join more than 800 such vehicles already in use in the U.S. The propane vehicles are joining nearly 600 propane trucks already operating in Canada and Mexico.

UPS's global alternative-fuel fleet now stands at 1,629 vehicles the largest such private fleet in the transportation industry and includes CNG, liquefied natural gas, propane and electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The company also is working with the Environmental Protection Agency on a hydraulic hybrid delivery vehicle.

"While there's a great deal of interest in the research we're doing with new types of hybrids, 70 years of testing alternative fuel vehicles has taught us there are multiple technologies that can effectively reduce our dependence on fossil fuels as well as our carbon footprint," says Robert Hall, UPS's director of vehicle engineering. "Adding this many propane and CNG vehicles is going to have a very positive impact."