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NACFE Finds Terrain Key in Alternative Powertrain Choice
Messy Middle Data Shows Driver, Fleet Culture Boost Truck MPG
Key Takeaways:
- NACFE’s latest Run on Less report found that terrain is the key factor in determining which alternative powertrains carriers can deploy effectively.
- The group said no single technology fits all applications, with diesel showing the strongest terrain resilience and BEVs and hydrogen trucks facing significant efficiency swings on challenging routes.
- NACFE will release additional reports through June 24, including emissions findings on April 15 and a total cost of ownership analysis on May 1.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Terrain is the key variable carriers must consider when assessing what type of powertrain beyond diesel to utilize, according to a report from the North American Council for Freight Efficiency.
The report — “” — emerged from analysis of the results of NACFE’s latest Run on Less program in September. NACFE plans to issue five reports on the analysis, of which this was the second.
NACFE’s goal with the latest initiative — the fifth Run on Less program — was to explore various powertrain options and investigate the need for infrastructure changes to accommodate alternative-fuel vehicles.
Carriers involved in the initiative comprised: Albert Transport, Frito-Lay, 4Gen, JoyRide Logistics, Kleysen Group, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Nevoya, Penske Logistics, Pilot Travel Centers, Saia, Schneider, UPS and Wegmans.
The program involved 14 trucks, 13 days of operations and four types of powertrain: four diesel trucks, three natural gas semis, five battery-electric vehicles and two hydrogen tractors. Collectively, the trucks logged more than 73,000 validated miles in real-world, revenue-generating runs.
“If you’re going to decarbonize or if you’re going to impact emissions and fuel burn and costs, you’ve got to work on the longhaul, heavy-duty, long-distance stuff. So, we tackled that this year,” NACFE Executive Director Mike Roeth said during a briefing at the unveiling of the findings.
No Technology Can Meet All Requirements
The data confirmed a central reality, NACFE said, that no single technology is capable of addressing every freight application with optimal economics, environmental performance and operational simplicity.
But the trucks demonstrated that each powertrain technology has a legitimate operational envelope where it can deliver competitive performance today and in the future, it added.
Carriers will use mixed fleets for the foreseeable future, and terrain sensitivity is the key factor in the findings, particularly for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen tractors, NACFE Director of Programs Dean Bushey, the report’s lead author, said during the briefing, which took place during the Technology & Maintenance Council’s 2026 Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition.
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Unsurprisingly, diesel was the operational benchmark for trucking. The diesel fleets achieved efficiency levels nearly double the typical longhaul fleet average, managing up to 11.8 mpg, NACFE said.
NACFE found that diesel demonstrated the best terrain resilience, with about 30% efficiency variation between flat corridors and mountain passes, whereas BEVs posted efficiency variations of 50% to 70% on comparable terrain. Route-specific terrain analysis is key before deployment decisions, it added.
Organizational culture can be a determining factor in the success or relative failure of deployment, whether picking the right routes, drivers or offering enough training, NACFE said.
“The drivers have to know how to drive the trucks. And that’s a big factor in figuring out how we can get more than 10 miles per gallon on a diesel. Because the drivers knew how to drive the truck,” Bushey said during the briefing.
“The same thing with up the hill, down the hill on a BEV. Some of the BEVs, the drivers were really, really careful about driving the exact speed limit that would get them the best mileage. Others not so much. And it really showed in the data,” he added.
X15N Competitive With Diesel
Highway-dominant duty cycles with predictable infrastructure access create the operational sweet spot for natural gas powertrains, NACFE said.
Cummins’ X15N engine showed “diesel-competitive pulling power” across demanding applications including heavy-haul tanker and triple-trailer configurations, it said.
Roeth noted during the unveiling of the report that Wegmans’ tractor was running 130,000 pounds across tough terrain in upstate New York.
Grocery store chain Wegmans ran a Peterbilt 567 day cab with an X15N engine from a base in Rochester, N.Y. Wegmans ranks No. 13 among grocery carriers in the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
Meanwhile, BEVs are past the demonstration phase for regional and selected longhaul applications, the research group said.
Significant improvements in efficiency, range, charging speed and weight optimization are coming with the next generation of tractors too, it added, noting the performance of Tesla and Windrose vehicles in September.
Tesla has since implemented improvements for the trucks now coming off the production line at its Reno, Nevada, factory.
“You know, we still need to haul freight until battery-electric trucks get there. So, we need OEMs that are building diesel and natural gas and so forth,” Roeth said, adding: “I wouldn’t want my old job as a product manager at International for anything right now, to be honest. These are difficult, difficult decisions for the truck OEMs.”
Hydrogen, however, remains a fuel of the future given all the challenges commercialization faces, Roeth said, noting: “The promise of hydrogen eludes us.”
Fuel cell trucks showed quick refueling and weight advantages over BEVs, but infrastructure scarcity, high fuel costs and energy pathway efficiency concerns present substantial challenges for commercial-scale deployment, the report found.
Looking forward to the remaining studies, the emissions report will be released April 15, the total cost of ownership report on May 1 and the final findings on June 24. The initial findings from the analysis were issued in late January.
