MrFedEx
Engorged Member
For the last year or so, FedEx has really laid it on about "being Green", yet, as usual, the truth is far different from the reality. Just last week, they were all over a Green conference held in Shanghai, and the recent Route 66 trip with a pure electric van generated a lot of positive PR and was hyped incessantly in FedEx in-house media. Almost every day, there is something new and Green being announced on the corporate website, like the 3-wheeled trike that is being considered for Europe.
The key word is "considered", because when does FedEx ever really deliver on the Green Promise? It doesn't. We've been "considering" hybrid and electric vehicles for many years, but there are only a handful in the fleet, and only in areas that are particularly ecologically sensitive or have strict legal guidelines for pollution standards (think California). The overall fleet structure is essentially the same as it always has been. Is FedEx buying new tractors to meet the much stricter guidelines for diesel vehicles that hit first in 2007? Maybe a few. Are the old gas-guzzling walk-ins being replaced? Again, a few of the oldest have been retired or taken off the road when there was a major component failure. Overall...not much of an effort, but lots and lots of hype.
FedEx calls itself "The World's Largest Cargo Airline", which is expedient for RLA purposes, but what they really are is the world's largest express delivery system. And an express delivery system that relies on jet airplanes can never be "Green". Airplanes are far less efficient than ships or trains, and the amount of pollution any jet generates is massive. FedEx has "experimented" with Bio-jet fuel, but since it's more expensive than conventional Jet-A, does anyone think for a moment that Bio-Jet-fuel will be a primary fuel source? It isn't on Fred's front burner.
The truth is that FedEx is trying very hard to sell the idea that it's a Green company, because being environmentally-sensitive is big business these days, and the more people it can fool into thinking it "cares about the environment", the more shippers will choose FedEx. It's just another PR scam, and just another bold-faced lie for the masters of the craft.
For what it's worth, I don't see UPS putting the hard sell on being Green, but I do see them making more of a commitment to hybrid and other new technology vehicles. They seem far more upfront about the idea that it will save them money long-term to make a large capital investment in vehicles that will eventually pay for themselves in the form of fuel-savings. It's about the Green dollars, not the Green image. Substance over image, imagine that?
When you see a hybrid or electric van in your station, please let me know. Or if you're at a ramp, let all of us know when you see a jet being fueled with Bio-Jet Fuel or a new CTV tractor that meets 2010 clean air standards with EGR or Blue-Tec type diesel technology. And if you're in Europe, let us know when all of those super fuel-efficient trikes arrive, OK? Don't hold your breath on any of these.
The key word is "considered", because when does FedEx ever really deliver on the Green Promise? It doesn't. We've been "considering" hybrid and electric vehicles for many years, but there are only a handful in the fleet, and only in areas that are particularly ecologically sensitive or have strict legal guidelines for pollution standards (think California). The overall fleet structure is essentially the same as it always has been. Is FedEx buying new tractors to meet the much stricter guidelines for diesel vehicles that hit first in 2007? Maybe a few. Are the old gas-guzzling walk-ins being replaced? Again, a few of the oldest have been retired or taken off the road when there was a major component failure. Overall...not much of an effort, but lots and lots of hype.
FedEx calls itself "The World's Largest Cargo Airline", which is expedient for RLA purposes, but what they really are is the world's largest express delivery system. And an express delivery system that relies on jet airplanes can never be "Green". Airplanes are far less efficient than ships or trains, and the amount of pollution any jet generates is massive. FedEx has "experimented" with Bio-jet fuel, but since it's more expensive than conventional Jet-A, does anyone think for a moment that Bio-Jet-fuel will be a primary fuel source? It isn't on Fred's front burner.
The truth is that FedEx is trying very hard to sell the idea that it's a Green company, because being environmentally-sensitive is big business these days, and the more people it can fool into thinking it "cares about the environment", the more shippers will choose FedEx. It's just another PR scam, and just another bold-faced lie for the masters of the craft.
For what it's worth, I don't see UPS putting the hard sell on being Green, but I do see them making more of a commitment to hybrid and other new technology vehicles. They seem far more upfront about the idea that it will save them money long-term to make a large capital investment in vehicles that will eventually pay for themselves in the form of fuel-savings. It's about the Green dollars, not the Green image. Substance over image, imagine that?
When you see a hybrid or electric van in your station, please let me know. Or if you're at a ramp, let all of us know when you see a jet being fueled with Bio-Jet Fuel or a new CTV tractor that meets 2010 clean air standards with EGR or Blue-Tec type diesel technology. And if you're in Europe, let us know when all of those super fuel-efficient trikes arrive, OK? Don't hold your breath on any of these.