Being that I have a special place in what I do for everything “alternative fuel”, it was only fitting that I attend the ACT Expo 2016, which was right in my own back yard so-to-speak! This show every year brings all of the latest and greatest from all facets of alternative-fueled transportation together in one place. It is not just a place for big trucks either, since cars, trucks, busses, as well as infrastructure vendors often occupy plenty of room in the expo hall. Having my new Freightliner Cascadia mid-roof 
CNG-powered truck on display in the Freightliner booth was of course one of the highlights of the show for me, as was meeting up with another friend of mine at the show, who just so happened to drive his CNG-powered Cascadia in all the way from Quebec, Canada on a load to display his truck as well and to speak at one of the sessions.
This being the third consecutive year that I have attended this particular show, I have seen a shift in the alt-fuel world toward my preferred fuel, CNG. When I began going to this show, which was shortly after I dived into the CNG world for the first time myself, it was unclear in the alternative fuel world as to which fuel source for heavy-duty trucking would begin to pull ahead of the others. At last year’s show, a lot of attention was given to the possibility that there would be breakthroughs in electric heavy-duty vehicles and hybrid technology. Although there were a few impressive things that went on this year in those areas of the alt-fuel world, the main stake in the heavy-duty fuel of choice seems to have fully shifted towards CNG.
In several of the sessions I attended, it was made clear by several large fleets that have heavily invested into CNG, that they were in it for the long haul regardless of diesel’s temporary dip into record lows this past year. When walking around the show, it was very easy to see that mostly CNG trucks were on display, CNG fuel vendors themselves were abundant, as well as a great number of tank and infrastructure vendors for CNG dominated the vendor space. It seems that my passion for CNG is one shared by many heavy-hitters in the industry and that the promise of greater technology to come with the use of this fuel and having cleaner running trucks means that CNG will continue to dominate the alternative fuel heavy-duty truck marketplace.
The education on alternative fuel breakthroughs paired with the ability to network with like-minded fleet professionals makes shows like this extremely valuable to attend. Covering many parts of the industry including aero efficiency gains, alternative fuel driver education importance, and even things like how to choose the right alternative fuel for your specific type of hauling, makes expos like this extremely valuable to attend in order to further a truck owner’s success when considering the investment into alternative fuels. Being one of the “little guys”, it also helps me check the pulse of the industry, to allow a better understanding of where things are going as a whole!