With diesel and gasoline prices remaining high and volatile, commercial fleet budgets are feeling the pinch of these unpredictable operating costs. Our next guest’s company however, has found a way to shield its bottom line from these market swings using propane. Mike Switzer interviews Lisa McAbee with McAbee Trucking, a postal contractor, Blacksburg, SC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Switzer: Hello and welcome to another edition of the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer. With diesel and gasoline prices remaining high and volatile, commercial fleet budgets are feeling the pinch of these unpredictable operating costs. Our next guest company, however, has found a way to shield its bottom line from these market swings using propane. Lisa McAbee is with McAbee Trucking, a postal contractor based in Blacksburg, South Carolina, where she joins us from now by phone. Lisa, welcome to the program.
McAbee: Thank you.
Switzer: Now, first of all, give us a brief history and overview of your company.
McAbee: McAbee Trucking was established in 1971 by, Marvin McAbee Sr. My husband's father. We've been in contract for United States Postal Service all those years. We have 26 box truck vans, and we have 34 tractor trailers. we travel from Greenville, South Carolina, post PNDC to the RPDC and Gastonia, deliver mail from one facility to the other. Then we go to the Gastonia, North Carolina RPDC and lpc. Then we deliver mail out to the local post offices that actually delivers your mail. And then in the afternoon, we go back to those same post offices, pick up the outgoing mail, and take it back up. We're pretty much running 365 days a year. 24.
Switzer: 7 are, contracts put up for bid on a regular basis every so often. Do you have to bid for these?
McAbee: Yes. Used to they would do renewals, but now if it's over a certain amount, they're putting it out to bid every two years.
Switzer: All right, well, now let's talk about how your trucking company is dealing with these high and volatile diesel and fuel prices. and I mentioned in my introduction that you are using propane. Talk about this transition and how this came to be.
McAbee: I started my initial going green policy in 2017. My first two vehicles were two used CNG tractors from Swift Transportation. Then in 2019, I was approached by someone from the Propane Education Research Council about looking into propane oil and gas. And after looking into it and looking into the pricing of the vehicles, it was much less than diesel box trucks. So I saw that as a savings. Buy new trucks. And also after I decided to invest in it, I later negotiated my propane prices with Alliance Blossom Autogas. The reason I went with Blossom is because I, asked every vendor what they were going to deliver my propane in. Everybody said diesel except for Blossom, and they said propane. I, said, then you get the contract, because why would I want my propane delivered in a diesel truck when I'm Trying to cut back on emissions.
Switzer: All right. And so propane, auto, gas, then this required you to buy new trucks, which you said were less expensive than new diesel trucks.
McAbee: Yes, about 30 to $40,000 less.
Switzer: And then the bottom line on your ongoing fuel costs, compared to 5 and $6 diesel prices. Now, what, what is your cost?
McAbee: It's below $2 a gallon, which is the equivalent of 298 for diesel. I just negotiated my contract with Lion Spots with all the gas and only went up 5 cents. And that was 5 cents for six years.
Switzer: And so are you hearing from other trucking companies that want to learn how to do the same that you are doing?
McAbee: Yes, I have, and I try to educate a lot of people on that because, you know, they're, they're saying, well, will it pull? Will it, will it do the same thing? What about if it's cold? You know, if it's cold, you don't have to put the fuel conditioner in it like you do diesels. Propane does not freeze. Diesel does. When it's hot, you might get maybe a tenth of a mile per a gallon difference, but in wintertime, you get the same mileage. And I have my own auto gas fueling station here at my location in Blacksburg, which is very convenient because my drivers don't have to go stand in line at a truck stop to spend all, my money on $6 and 16 cents a gallon when they can just fuel up easily right here in my own yard.
Switzer: And so why do you suppose all the trucking companies in the country don't just go ahead and switch over?
McAbee: Because they're not educated on it. There are several postal service contractors that have went to propane because of my initiative. A lot of the contractors in California especially have gone to the propane autogas trucks. The performance of the truck is no different than the diesel truck. Actually, it's better because it's quieter, which makes it safer for your driver. He can actually hear what's going on around him. Compared to a diesel truck, that's very loud when you're going down the road. You can barely hear yourself sink.
Switzer: Yes. Well, once again, Lisa, thank you so much.
McAbee: Thank you. And you have a great day.
Switzer: Lisa McAbee is with McAbee Trucking. She spoke to us by phone from her company's headquarters in Blacksburg, South Carolina. We will have a link to her company posted at our webpage so you can learn more. SouthCarolinaPublicPadio.org. With the South Carolina Business Review, this is Mike Switzer.
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