{"id":2687,"date":"2021-05-07T18:18:31","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T18:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=2687"},"modified":"2021-05-07T18:18:33","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T18:18:33","slug":"the-post-office-seeks-to-modernize-its-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/the-post-office-seeks-to-modernize-its-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Post Office Seeks to Modernize Its Fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You might see this headline and think, \u201cWhy am I reading about the post office on a trucking interest blog?\u201d Well, to be fair, you must look at the post office for what it is: A sprawling fleet and transportation logistics operation. In fact, the United States Postal Service (USPS) current fleet sits at around 230,000 vehicles<\/a>. Of those, 190,000 are dedicated solely to delivering mail and parcels. You likely remember the Grumman LLV boxy mail truck puttering around neighborhoods for decade after decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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USPS is, quite simply, a huge user and contributor to the\ntrucking and transportation network in the United States. As such, its future\nmatters greatly to trucking interests and advocacy organizations. How the Post\nOffice fares 20 or 30 years down the road impacts all of us. Additionally, the\nUSPS is a known brand around the world, shipping to many countries and working\nclosely with international partners to provide low-cost shipping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Storied History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post office has always been an entity that explores\ninnovation in transportation. It may not be well-known, but the first\nPostmaster General was Benjamin Franklin. At the time, the Post Office was used\nfor communication between Congress and military commanders during the\nRevolutionary War. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Movies have been used in popular culture to imbed the Post\nOffice as something vital to our collective consciousness as Americans. Kevin\nCostner\u2019s The Postman<\/em> cast an unlikely hero as a savior in a Postal\nService outfit. Other movies have featured the Pos Office in various ways.\nHowever you look at it, the USPS is a cultural phenomenon as much as it is a\nlogistical one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USPS was also at the leading edge of airplane and\nautomobile usage. They were early adopters and even played a role in the civil\nrights movement. Many people in this country of different generations view the\nPostal Service as vital national asset and symbol of American pride. Still,\nthere has been some recent controversy as the USPS aims to modernize its fleet.\nWith a new vehicle contract going to a major defense manufacture, some are\nscratching their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Push to Modernize<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USPS is making a big push to modernize on the backs of\nnumerous complaints within the agency that their current fleet of Grumman-made\ntrucks \u2013 those ubiquitous box trucks we all know so well \u2013 is prone to catching\nfire by themselves and not the result of an accident. It is well-known that the\nUSPS\u2019 current fleet of Grumman trucks is based on highly antiquated technology.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when Louis DeJoy, the current Postmaster General,\nannounced they were awarding a billion-dollar vehicle modernization contact to\na defense manufacturer that had little experience building EVs, Washington\nerupted. As it stands, lawmakers point out that if USPS were to move forward\nwith the plan, they would be the last internal combustion vehicles on the road\nby the end of their lifespan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, several Democratic lawmakers have penned a\nletter requesting that the contract be put on hold until three new members are\nseated to the USPS Board of Governors. But while it is easy for political\nparties to pick a side on this issue and use it as their personal punching bag,\nthe full story of how this contract was awarded goes for deeper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Messy Contract Process<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the USPS first announced they were taking bids to\nmodernize their fleet, only two companies wound up placing bids: Workhorse\nGroup Inc. and Oshkosh Corporation. Interestingly, these companies could not be\nfarther apart in their story. Workhorse is a plunky electric truck startup that\nhas only delivered a few hundred drive-ready vehicles, while Oshkosh is an over\n100-year-old company that has been providing manufacturing expertise to the\nU.S. Government for many, many years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that Workhorse specializes in EVs, whereas\nOshkosh may not necessarily have the expertise or resources to build a massive,\n160,000-strong fleet of EVs for the USPS. Yet, if you dig deep into the full\nsituation, Workhorse is being sued by Fuzzy Panda Research, an investment firm\nwho holds a short position on the company, for misleading the public regarding\nthe USPS contract. Fuzzy Panda alleges that Workhorse\u2019s prototypes were plagued\nwith problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, even Oshkosh Corporation themselves admit, in an investor\nstatement released shortly before they were awarded the contract, that they may\nhave problems fulfilling a pure EV order. Since the contract has been awarded,\nhowever, they released a statement purporting that the company can capably\nproduce up to 100% EVs if requested, but it is up to the USPS to make the\nrequest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, Postmaster General DeJoy was lambasted when\nhe stated that the intent was to only order 10% of the new fleet in EV format.\nWith Oshkosh stating they can fulfill a higher manufacturing request, there is\nmuch speculation as to why the initial order is so sparse of EVs. All of this\nis in light of the fact that private sector corporations are embracing EVs in\nlarge numbers. FedEx, UPS, Amazon, and DHL have all made big moves to adopt EV\ntechnologies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should USPS Go Electric?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A case can certainly be made for the USPS converting their fleet to EVs. One big reason for this is EV lifetime operating costs. The charging and maintenance required are as low as one-third of the analogous costs for internal combustion variants. And considering the USPS comprises 30% of the entire federal fleet, people are making the case for an all-electric future for the Postal Service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some renewable advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers are\npointing to potential public health benefits that come from electrifying the\nfleet. Currently, many vehicles in the USPS fleet utilize diesel engines, which\ncreates more particulate matter and potentially harmful emissions. These\nemissions directly impact many communities that live in heavily trafficked\ncorridors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 severity can also be directly linked to respiratory\nproblems, which generally arise when people live in dense urban areas and\nbreath in particulate matter related to internal combustion engines. With\nAmerica emerging from a pandemic driven by a terrible respiratory virus,\nelectrifying the U.S. government\u2019s largest fleet sends a message that the Feds\ntake public health seriously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions Remain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate over electrifying the USPS fleet is far from\nover, and many questions remain. One of the main sticking points is the secrecy\nsurrounding the project and the criteria used to evaluate the ratios of\ngasoline to electric vehicles the service intends on ordering. As a result,\nDemocratic members of Congress have asked the USPS to turn\nover the contract<\/a> signed with Oshkosh Corporation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a Congressional oversight hearing discussing the\nmatter, Representatives pressed DeJoy to explain how much of the fleet would be\nelectric, to which he replied 10%. He did state that the vehicles could be\nbuilt in both electric and gas configurations. He did mention that the agency\ndid a 15-year cost assessment and determined they would need $4 billion to $5\nbillion more than allotted currently to reach 50% electrification. Still, the\nfigures that came from that assessment have not been released publicly, so no\none really knows what the data is that came up with those numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the things DeJoy did allude to was large charging\nestimates. Fortunately, the new Oshkosh vehicles should only need Level 2 charging\nsince many would be charging overnight in hubs. The vehicles will not need fast\ncharging capabilities because the USPS runs the mail only during certain hours.\nIt is also not known if the benefit to local communities through transmission\nline upgrades and charger installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, the onus will be on Oshkosh. While the company has a lot of experience filling big orders for the U.S. government, yet there have been no renderings or prototypes of the vehicle made available. The closest we have come is this picture from an Engadget article<\/a> released in February. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While Congress continues to try to get more information or\nchange the parameters of the deal, the Biden administration has remained\ntight-lipped on what it will do. President Biden\u2019s selections to the Board of\nGovernors have not yet been seated and he does not have the power to outright\nremove DeJoy. Certainly, the power struggle will continue, but there is little\ndoubt that the future will contain big changes for the USPS fleet. Will those\nchanges be for the better or worse a this point is anyone\u2019s guess. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You might see this headline and think, \u201cWhy am I reading about the post office on a trucking interest blog?\u201d Well, to be fair, you must look at the post office for what it is: A sprawling fleet and transportation logistics operation. In fact, the United States Postal Service (USPS) current fleet sits at around … Read moreThe Post Office Seeks to Modernize Its Fleet<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Post Office Seeks to Modernize Its Fleet - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/the-post-office-seeks-to-modernize-its-fleet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Post Office Seeks to Modernize Its Fleet - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You might see this headline and think, \u201cWhy am I reading about the post office on a trucking interest blog?\u201d Well, to be fair, you must look at the post office for what it is: A sprawling fleet and transportation logistics operation. 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