Mack MD Electric semi truck gets to work at PITT OHIO fleet

Logistics and LTL shipping providers PITT OHIO are adding four Mack MD Electric commercial trucks to their Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania operations.

With the addition of its new Mack MD Electrics, PITT OHIO will have 10 BEVs – a small part of its 930 Class 8 tractor and 475 Class 7 straight truck fleet (the majority of which is Mack/Volvo).

“Mack Trucks is proud to support PITT OHIO in its emissions reduction efforts,” explained Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “We look forward to continuing to work with PITT OHIO and our other battery-electric vehicle (BEV) customers as they navigate the sustainability journey by offering a total ecosystem of support.”

Despite BEVs making up just 1% (ish) of its fleet, the company is planning for EVs to become a bigger piece of its total asset pie. In evidence of that, PITT OHIO is adding DC fast charging to its Harrisburg terminal in a bid to to support increased electrification of the fleet there. That project is expected to be completed in Q1 2025.

“We believe that this order will help jump-start our electrification activities, and we’ve really allowed the technology to come to us rather than force it,” said Taki Darakos, vice president of vehicle maintenance and fleet services at PITT OHIO. “We believe the Mack MD Electric vehicles will provide the best range and payload from a value standpoint. We are excited that the current capabilities should be able to mimic 85% of our conventional box truck fleet in terms of range and payload.”

The Mack MD Electric trucks ship with an all-electric drive motor that puts out 260 hp and 1,850 lb-ft of torque. Electrons are provided by a 240 kWh capacity SEA Electric battery pack and 80 kW DC fast-charging that charges the battery from under 20-80% charging in just an hour.

PITT OHIO paid for the trucks, in part, with grants from the state of Pennsylvania, as part of their MD HD ZEV Fleet Demonstration Project for all of the vehicles.

Electrek’s Take

The “Mack-ification” of the MD market continues as more and more of the near-semi market adopts the Mack Class 6 and 7 model of using a “big truck cab” and giving drivers the same “big truck feel” as the Class 8s — something we talked about a few weeks ago on The Heavy Equipment Podcast. So check that out if you’re curious about the MD market as-a-whole, and let us know what you think of this new big Mack.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Mack Trucks, the Trucker.