August 8, 2026 7:00 AM, EDT
Penske Logistics has operated electric yard tractors since 2021. (Penske)
Key Takeaways:
Fleets including Pitt Ohio, NFI and Penske Logistics said electric yard tractors are gaining traction because predictable yard operations suit battery-electric vehicles.Despite costing about twice as much as diesel models, electric yard tractors can lower fuel and maintenance expenses and achieve competitive total ownership costs.Fleets and manufacturers expect adoption to grow, but high vehicle prices, charging infrastructure needs and utility delays remain key obstacles.
Battery-electric trucks have struggled to gain market traction in most heavy-duty applications due to higher vehicle costs, range limitations, insufficient charging infrastructure and, most recently, the rollback of regulatory mandates and federal incentives that had been pushing adoption.
However, there has been a quieter transition underway as fleets realize that electric terminal tractors can reliably move trailers within logistics yards while generating measurable savings.
Several industry leaders said yard operations are a good fit for electrification because the vehicles travel short distances at low speeds and regularly pause between moves and during driver breaks, creating natural opportunities to recharge without taking equipment out of service.
“This is one where it makes sense,” said Taki Darakos, vice president of maintenance and fleet services for Pitt Ohio.
The less-than-truckload operator, which ranks No. 44 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America, operates two electric yard tractors and is adding a third.
Meanwhile, NFI Industries has deployed more than 50 electric yard tractors from three manufacturers since 2020, with 25 currently in service.
“We made the initial decision because we believed yard operations were well suited for EV adoption,” said Jim O’Leary, NFI’s vice president of fleet services. “The vehicles operate within a defined area, can take advantage of opportunity charging and can often be supported by a facility’s existing electrical service.”
NFI ranks No. 17 on the for-hire TT100.
Taking charge
Yard tractors are gaining ground as one of the few battery-electric truck applications where predictable duty cycles, controlled charging and lower operating costs can produce a workable business case even as emissions regulations and federal funding have dwindled.
James Leibold, zero-emission vehicle sales manager for Kalmar Ottawa, said the yard’s limited footprint is a major advantage.
“The truck is never more than a few miles from a charger, and there is usually a dedicated charger for that truck,” he said.
Due in part to opportunity charging, Pitt Ohio’s EV yard tractors rarely fall below a 50% charge, Darakos noted.
Many electric yard tractors can operate for 20 hours or more on a single charge, while their stop-and-go operation allows them to recover energy through regenerative braking, said Pranav Jaswani, senior technology analyst at research firm IDTechEx. Electric yard tractors also use smaller, less expensive battery packs than would be needed for highway applications.
Nonetheless, the purchase price for an electric terminal tractor is typically at least double that of a conventional diesel model.
NFI Industries has deployed more than 50 electric yard tractors from
three manufacturers since 2020. (NFI Industries)
While pricing varies depending on specifications and purchase volume, an electric yard tractor costs roughly $300,000 to $350,000 before incentives, compared with about $140,000 to $150,000 for a comparable diesel vehicle.
Despite the higher upfront cost, battery-electric terminal tractors can still provide a favorable total cost of ownership, but economics vary by site. Electricity and diesel prices, utilization, incentives and infrastructure costs can all affect the payback period for electric yard tractors.
“If I look just at the truck itself over a seven-year period, we’re finding total cost of ownership to be pretty close to neutral,” said Sean Falcone, vice president of fleet operations for Penske Logistics, which has operated electric yard tractors since 2021.
Penske Logistics ranks No. 13 on the for-hire TT100.
ACT Research has found that yard tractors are the only Class 8 trucks with a positive total cost of ownership without incentives, said Lydia Vieth, electrification and autonomy research analyst at ACT Research. Fuel is the biggest benefit in terms of TCO, but savings can fluctuate with diesel prices.
For NFI, fuel savings in California declined as Low Carbon Fuel Standard credit prices weakened.
Electricity costs also can change. Pitt Ohio’s utility rates increased 11% this year, Darakos said.
Reducing service costs
Maintenance is another significant part of the equation. Diesel yard tractors spend a lot of time idling, which wastes fuel and puts additional strain on engines and emissions aftertreatment systems such as diesel particulate filters and selective catalytic reduction.
“Constant idling and stop-start cycling is brutal on DPF/SCR aftertreatment … and is a major driver of maintenance costs,” said Emilia Sibley, emerging technologies consultant for the North American Council for Freight Efficiency.
A 2022 NACFE study found that electric terminal tractors cost 50% to 75% less to maintain than modern diesel units equipped with emissions aftertreatment systems.
Penske’s Falcone has seen maintenance-related costs fall by about 40% for labor and 50% for parts. O’Leary said NFI has cut maintenance costs by as much as 50% in some applications, but tire expenses have increased.
With fuel and maintenance savings, some fleets can reach diesel parity or recover the higher vehicle cost in about six years, depending on utilization, Kalmar Ottawa’s Leibold said.
Orange EV expects to capture more than a quarter of all new terminal-truck deliveries this year. (Orange EV)
Orange EV, which exclusively manufactures battery-electric terminal tractors, estimates customers save roughly $30,000 to $60,000 per truck annually in fuel and maintenance, with lifetime savings potentially exceeding $500,000.
ROI, rather than sustainability alone, closes most yard tractor deals, said Zack Ruderman, vice president of sales and marketing for Orange EV. “Nobody buys a yard truck because it’s electric,” he said. “They buy it because it moves trailers more reliably and significantly lowers the cost of running the yard.”
Uptime also influences the return. Orange EV reports that its installed base averages about 97% uptime. Early fleet deployments were not without reliability problems, but performance has improved.
“With any new technology, we expect some growing pains,” NFI’s O’Leary said. “We have experienced reliability and uptime challenges across the board, but we have seen improved performance over the past 12 months.”
The business case could continue to improve as diesel-related expenses rise and battery costs decline.
“The way cost has risen in ICE vehicles, especially post-COVID, you’re really starting to see this level out,” Penske’s Falcone said.
Electric powertrains also could extend the equipment’s useful life. Diesel terminal tractors commonly follow a seven- to 10-year depreciation cycle, but electric models may remain in service longer because they contain fewer moving parts.
“We could see closer to a 20-year life cycle if some of our calculations are correct,” Leibold said.
Positive feedback
Driver acceptance has been another benefit. Falcone said it is a “hidden gem,” and the quieter, smoother equipment leaves operators feeling less fatigued.
Darakos said Pitt Ohio has not found an operator who wanted to return to diesel after driving an electric unit.
Corporate sustainability goals and local requirements still support some purchases.
“Yard tractors are an easy entry point to start hitting your sustainability goals without significant capital, and you’re getting operational benefits,” Falcone said, adding that local rules, such as the Indirect Source Rule in California, are influencing adoption.
Yard tractors also provide operational experience that can help companies prepare for other electric applications.
“What we’re learning inside the yard is definitely applicable when you get outside the yard,” Falcone said.
Those lessons include working with utilities, sizing batteries, placing chargers, training technicians and establishing operating procedures. However, yard deployments do not face the range, payload and route variability issues that make regional and longhaul applications more difficult.
“Yard tractors prove a company’s operational readiness for EVs, not the technical feasibility of longhaul BEVs,” NACFE’s Sibley said.
Challenges ahead
Despite the favorable duty cycle, terminal tractors still present challenges.
“Although we are seeing reductions in maintenance and fuel costs, the cost of the vehicle without funding remains a major barrier to widespread adoption and a positive return on investment,” O’Leary said.
Charging infrastructure is another hurdle. Pitt Ohio spent about $20,000 to install charging at each of its first two deployments and has been limited by the power available at some sites. Costs can rise significantly when a location requires a transformer upgrade, utility work or long conduit runs.
Electric units are expected to account for about 10% of Kalmar’s business in 2026. (Kalmar Ottawa)
Yard tractors don’t always require high-power fast charging, but the solution depends on utilization.
“When we’re doing a three-shift operation, we’re absolutely going to be fast charge,” Falcone said.
Utility interconnection can take 6-18 months or as long as 36 months for larger loads, and Sibley recommends that fleets needing upgrades begin planning a year or more in advance.
Extreme temperatures also require operational planning, although Falcone said temperature concerns haven’t deterred Penske’s customers. The company can also tap into its rental fleet if it needs to bring in diesel equipment.
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As demand has grown, so has competition. Kalmar Ottawa began selling its internally developed T2EV in January 2025 after previously offering an electric model through a partnership. Leibold said electric units are expected to account for about 10% of Kalmar’s business this year, with much of the activity coming from ports.
Orange EV expects to capture more than a quarter of all new terminal-truck deliveries this year and deliver more than 1,000 trucks. Ruderman said it took the manufacturer nearly a decade to place its first 2,000 units.
“We’ve moved from proving the technology to scaling the technology,” he said.