Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) is expanding the use of electric trucks for logistics operations across multiple business units and regions, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, and Saltillo, Mexico to transport components to manufacturing plants and parts distribution centers (PDCs).
DTNA started integrating Freightliner eCascadia battery electric semi-trucks, which were launched in 2022, into its logistics operation in the Pacific Northwest in Dec. 2023, as well as Daimler Truck Mexico’s truck manufacturing plant in Santiago in January. For short-haul operations, DTNA said it will begin using its Freightliner eM2 electric box trucks that were introduced to customers last year.
DTNA said it follows a strategy to expand the electrification within its regional logistics networks, serving its manufacturing plants and PDCs within a 250-mile radius aligned with its supplier landscape. Operating within these networks enables DTNA to fully utilize truck capacity and optimize multi-stop schedules, it said, which allows precise planning of transportation routes and charging points. DTNA said it leverages existing charging infrastructure, such as “Electric Island,” a public charging station in Portland, OR, designed specifically for commercial vehicles, and plans to use future infrastructure, including facilities like Duke Energy’s Mount Holly Microgrid Center in the Carolinas and Michigan’s Mobility Charging Hub. In addition, the company said it supports its strategic partners in the overall electrification journey by offering Detroit eConsulting services, including the implementation of depot charging at facilities.
“Our commitment to sustainability extends across our entire value chain,” said Jeff Allen, senior vice president of operations and specialty vehicles at DTNA. “As we witness the adoption of electric vehicles, such as our Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2 trucks, within our logistics network, we are not only driving sustainability but also laying the groundwork for adaptable and robust electric logistics solutions.”
DTNA said sustainability is an integral part of its core business. Recognizing the importance of understanding environmental impacts from production to disposal, the company said it regularly conducts life cycle carbon assessments for all of its activities.
In line with its sustainability goals, DTNA said it aims to achieve carbon neutrality for all new products and services from direct suppliers in Europe, the United States and Japan by 2039. As early as 2020, the Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant, where the Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 are built, achieved COâ‚‚-neutral production by reducing energy consumption and offsetting on-site emissions, according to DTNA. DTNA also plans to achieve COâ‚‚-neutral production at all of its remaining truck manufacturing plants by 2025. In addition, DTNA said it is developing solutions to optimize the entire lifecycle of the batteries used in its electric trucks, including strategies such as remanufacturing, repurposing and end-of-life recycling.
