Werner Enterprises’ electric trucks are currently insufficient to meet the company’s needs, Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers said Thursday.
The electric grid is not capable of producing enough energy to charge such trucks currently, Leathers said, speaking broadly about the issue at Morgan Stanley’s Laguna investor conference.
"We, as a country, are not making the moves necessary to produce more electricity," he also said, noting that's before AI competing for those electric needs.
“AI is now a bigger competitor for that very limited grid than even EVs are,” Leathers said. “I think the obstacles are ... significant.”
The carrier is committed to exploring the technology and has some vehicles in its fleet already, according to a Werner corporate social responsibility report.
In May, Ryder System released a report that found based on current technology and circumstances, the cost to convert a fleet from heavy-duty trucks with internal combustion engines to EVs could cost 94% to 114% more.
But that can drastically drop, depending on equipment type. For example, Ryder found EV conversion may only cost 3% to 5% for Class 4 vehicles.
That finding aligned with additional remarks from Leathers. He said that EVs can make sense in several situations, such as return-to-home drayage, intermodal and refuse trucks.
Werner is a bigger believer in renewable diesel, Leathers said. "That is a real opportunity to make a difference for the environment,” he said.
