Slow SCR truck sales curb development of OTR AdBlue market

Supply points selling cans of AdBlue as opposed to those equipped with pumps currently dominate Europe's AdBlue infrastructure. Out of more than 2500 supply points listed on FindAdBlue.com, only one in ten are equipped with pumps. This ratio is widely expected to change as the October Euro 4 deadline approaches, yet the predicted expansion of an independent bulk AdBlue market is still slow to materialise, to the concern of the truck manufacturers in particular.

Canister supplies were only intended for emergency and top-up purposes and are viewed as an impractical option for regular use in heavy-duty diesel trucks with a 90-litre AdBlue tank. However, companies willing to invest in more permanent pump supply options are still slow to come to the market.

Industry analysts point to a number of factors influencing the perceived lack of large-capacity provision of AdBlue, and the continuing growth of the canister market.

Firstly, many of the supply points listed in Vent and FindAdBlue.com are OEM dealerships and aftermarket service points. Until there is a sufficient infrastructure of AdBlue pumps in Europe, OEM dealers are stocking cans as a service to their customers. Transport companies' private home bases, although this is undoubtedly the fastest developing market, are not listed in Vent and on FindAdBlue.com. Many trucks fill up on AdBlue at nozzle-equipped IBCs at their home bases at the start of their journeys. But private fleet operators' take up of dispensing equipment is still described as "disappointing" by AdBlue suppliers and OEMs.

"When the October deadline is here, people will have to invest"

"2006 is a difficult transitional year for AdBlue," a source at one truck manufacturer told Vent. "Fleet operators are notoriously conservative. They have had a lot of new legislation to adhere to in only a few months and the fiasco of digital tachographs makes them even more cautious about other new technology. When the October deadline is here people will have to invest."

Oil companies are also described as "reluctant" to invest in AdBlue refilling equipment until they consider there to be sufficient demand. This has restricted the OTR public market for AdBlue, which involves investment in tanks, pumps and calibration equipment. Such investments are unattractive to oil companies and truck stop operators until they see increased SCR truck sales, and a profit for themselves in stocking AdBlue, and this is a stumbling block.

"Between 70% and 80% of our sales are for Euro 3 trucks and the story seems to be the same for other manufacturers," DAF sources said. "We'll be running our plants at full capacity over the summer to fulfil all the orders." Again this suggests the SCR fleet will be slow to expand to the numbers OTR AdBlue suppliers and OEMs would like to see.

According to Iveco's Marco Monticelli, External Relations and Communication, "Talking about the next few months, I think that there will be some problems at the beginning concerning the wide availability of AdBlue pumps, which will increase the cost of AdBlue cans. We are confident that the market forces will solve this problem very soon."

Robin Futcher of Bell Flow Systems, a leading supplier of AdBlue storage and dispensing equipment, believes that the home base market will account for most of Bell Flow's business in the short-term. He does not envisage an OTR market of significant size before 2010 at the earliest. "Transport companies will opt for IBCs at home bases at first and invest in fixed installations at a later date, as they will not replace their entire fleet of trucks all in one go."

AdBlue Pumps and Calibration

In most European countries, metering and dispensing equipment at public AdBlue sites must conform to local Weights and Measures legislation. It is not obligatory to have calibrated pumps at home base installations, although some equipment manufacturers do calibrate pumps for their home base customers as well. Tokheim is one example, as Remco Rengers, Marketing Manager Dispensing Equipment, explains: "This is to allow standardisation, optimised cost and easy maintenance."

The price of equipment for public supply points and those at home bases may vary quite considerably. According to Joe Ferrara of UK company Centre Tank Services "Pumps for private use can cost a third of the price as those for public AdBlue refilling." He continues: "the accuracy of a pump for private use may be plus or minus 0.5% whereas one for public use the requirement is for greater accuracy, hence the difference in price."