With a predicted growth in freight vehicles that use more sustainable fuels, Paragon Software Systems Inc. has enhanced its routing and scheduling software to address the potential challenges of planning routes for sustainable vehicles.

An increasing number of logistics operations are now committed to low-emission, fuel-efficient technology, which often comes at the cost of limited range. This latest expansion of Paragon software’s capabilities will enable transport planners to better plan around these limitations.

Transport planners will now be able to define the actual range of a sustainable truck or van, ensuring that the Paragon routing and scheduling software restricts the distance of any trip to the vehicle’s maximum range. If any subsequent manual adjustments result in extra mileage beyond the range of a vehicle, a warning will alert the planner to the potential issue.

The update seeks to make it easier for U.S. fleet managers to adapt to the trend toward electric, natural-gas, and hybrid-powered delivery vehicles. Although adoption is currently more dramatic in Europe, multiple major manufacturers serving the U.S. market, including Tesla, Chanje, Daimler, and Volkswagen, have announced electric trucks for the US market will be widely available in the next two years.

Further, leading transportation operators Golden State Foods and Ryder have ordered trucks.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that up to 1,200 pounds of nitrogen oxides and more than 100 pounds of particulate matter per truck per year could be reduced by replacing an old diesel drayage truck with a zero emission vehicle.