Fuel is a big cost in trucking. Most do not give this any thought and that includes the employees of the trucking companies. If you are the type of driver that thinks about the cost of doing business for your employer or the trucking industry in general, you are in the minority. Just look at all the trucks you see whose drivers speed and tailgate confirming the bad image the public has of trucks and drivers.
Drivers are the ones who can control the cost of fuel with better driving habits, proper shifting, reduced idle times, using cruise control, and letting the truck move on its own, just to name a few. Now none of this is going to help a whole lot of the employer does not have the trucks operating at peak performance, and drivers can not control wind, road conditions and weight of the load being shipped.
Auxiliary Power Units Becoming Commonplace
Many are now installing APU’s. Auxiliary Power Units. These allow the driver to shut off the truck and use the APU for keeping cool or warm. APU’s will use around 0.3 tenths of a gallon per hour instead of running the truck which uses 1 gallon per hour. So you can see that the APU’s pay for themselves in a short time. I worked for a company that had heaters only for the drivers. Worked well and I got my much needed rest in a toasty warm sleeper. For the summer months to keep the sleeper cool, shut the curtain and the side curtains/flaps and keep the sleeper dark with sleeper air on. During your break, the cool air should last a few hours. These APU’s are being installed due to the anti idling rules being more and more common in many states and cities.
No one wants you to idle your truck to keep warm/cool. But it is OK for the millions of other vehicles to idle to get the vehicle warm/cool before driver leaves. And drive 1 block because they won’t walk it. You know what I mean. This applies to a large number of drivers. I am a firm believer in not running the trucks or any vehicle but at times you may have to. There are too many people who know more about trucking than the ones who actually work in the business and they are the ones who get these laws passed. You can run your truck if you have a pet because it’s cruel and dangerous to let the pet suffer and die. So now we know pets have more rights than the drivers.
Today’s trucks are not like the “old days”. You can shut them off and they will start. What was going on then in trucking worked for that time. Today we have better equipment and thousands of more trucks on the roads.
Calculating Fuel Costs
Lets say your truck has two 100 gallon tanks and you put in 190 gallons twice a week. 190 gallons times $2.85 a gallon = $541.50 or $1083 a week or $4,332 a month. This is one truck. Now you have 100 trucks owned by your employer. 100 trucks put in 190 gallons on same day, it will cost $54,150! If all 100 trucks fill 9 times in a month with 190 gallons, that cost is $487,350! This does not include all the other fills the fleet does, this is just an example. The companies with 12,000 plus trucks, their cost is astronomical each month and at the end of the year. Now add insurance, drivers wages, maintenance and tires to this cost.
Super Single Tires Becoming More Common
18 tires are not cheap. A December 2009 add shows you can buy one on sale for $299.99. Put 8 on your trailer at $300 apiece, you have $2,400. Multiply this by many trucks and trailers in a years time, you again can see astronomical figures.
Several companies are going to or trying out on some of their trucks and trailers the Super Singles. Instead of 8 tires on the back end of the tractor, you have 4, and instead of 8 on the trailer you have 4. Reports show fuel mileage increases 3% or more due to less weight and better rolling resistance. Mileage per tire also increases. I pulled many trailers with Super Singles in the winter in the northern states. I really like them and did not have any problems. Each company will have to decide if these tires will be the best in the type of operations you have.
The Bottom Line For The Driver
The more money the driver can help employer save in fuel and tires could mean a pay raise and newer equipment.
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As a long-time small business owner (outside of the trucking industry) I believe the one thing employees do not understand is that to have the best interests of your employer in mind is one of the best things you can do to help yourself. Now I totally understand that in the corporate world many good deeds done by a company’s workers go unnoticed. We hear about scandals all the time – rich executives stealing from their own companies and investors. There’s a lot of reasons for workers to be skeptical – no question about it.
But in the end, a company filled with workers who take a “Me against the management” approach to their jobs aren’t going to have a company around to work at for very long. I don’t feel like you should become a martyr and sacrifice everything for your company – no way! But if you’re wise you’ll keep your company’s best interests in mind and try to help yourself and your company at the same time as often as possible.
Great post Rhonda! It’s easy to see that you’ve not only been in the driver’s seat, but also in the offices of these trucking companies as well because your perspective is insightful, well thought out, and balanced.
I agree that all drivers should watch their MPG. I work for a company where it is mandatory i reach a certain MPG every month, and I am sure they save a ton of money by doing this. I have met or exceeded it every month and am happy to do so. I am just happy that it is an average for the month so that I can get high ones with light loads on flat land and they will offset the low ones with heavy loads in the hills. One question I do have for you though is the super singles- I see them on a lot of trucks and trailers and wondered about them. If you get a flat, wouldn’t it massively change the weight distribution on the rest of the tires because it would be almost like getting a flat in side by side tires with tandems? with standard tires if you get a flat you can still run it to get somewhere to get it fixed, but wonder if this would be a bad idea with super singles. Than you would have the road side assistant charge to add to tire replacement, because they have to come to you when you get a flat. Is this true or can you run with one flat? It will work itself out eventually, because if they are a greater benefit, than every truck in America will have them. Just like Automatic transmissions. When they figure out how to make better MPG with automatics, every truck will have it. i have never ran them and so do not know the benefits but I am sure I will one day.
Thanks
Great post. Numbers don’t lie and those were some staggering tallies.
I wanted to show how much it costs your employer in fuel as the amounts you may guess will be too low. Mine were. Once I moved into the office and became Safety Director, one of my duties was checking the fuel report against the fuel stop of the logs the drivers turned in. BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT WAS POSSIBLE!!!!
Oh yeah, that was interesting. You sign in to your fuel stop–PILOT—TA–FLYING J or whatever with your password and other company info and the cards assigned to the driver and there in front of you is driver, fuel purchased and THE TIME. Your time better match the logs too. This is where the total amount of dollars spent that day/month was brought to my attention. It really is one of the top costs for your employer and you can control it.
Flat tires on Super Singles I am not sure except for what I have read on it. Flat off the rim like some get, I’m not sure you can drive it. The tires are to be made “stronger” than the other tires. And the Super Singles I have seen have the air line to the tire with a sensor somewhere in there that does keep the tire inflated to where you should be able to drive to nearest shop. Or to a safer place to park. Will have to check into this.