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YUTHANA PRAIWAN
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has expanded its pooling initiative to improve fuel consumption in the transport sector following successes on the Bangkok-Rayong route.
FTI executive committee member Chen Namchaisiri said pooling trucks for inbound and outbound routes between Bangkok and Rayong had halved fuel consumption for FTI members under a pilot project launched almost a year ago.
By pooling their vehicles, manufacturers can maximise their fleet use by avoiding operating empty trucks on inbound and outbound routes serving Bangkok. Operators were able to cut their expenses on truck rentals by 30-50%.
''The pooling system that was introduced in July last year has proved that it was economically viable,'' said Mr Chen.
Some truck operators may have to modify vehicles for various products, he added.
More than 30 firms that are raw material suppliers, manufacturers and logistics service providers for plastic, chemicals, electronic goods, auto parts and steel have agreed to join the project, Mr Chen said.
For example, trucks delivering plastic pellets from Bangkok to Rayong could be loaded with steel rods on the way back to Bangkok, he said.
''Once the operation received a good response, the FTI expanded the pooling system to other areas such as routes from Bangkok to northern and southern regions,'' added Mr Chen.
Punnachai Footrakul, vice-president of the NGV marketing department for PTT Plc, said the oil company had completed a capacity expansion of NGV from 1,000 tonnes a day to 1,900 tonnes last month to meet the rising demand for compressed natural gas (CNG).
The capacity would rise to 5,400 tonnes at the end of this year, he added.
Refuelling stations would be increased to 355 at the end of this year from 203 at present. The number of cars fuelling with natural gas reached 82,000 units last week, up from form 78,000 units in May.
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