When I first met Henry Albert, I asked him about ways to improve my fuel mileage while pulling a non aerodynamic car carrier. Besides pulling it with a Freightliner Cascadia and driving it with fuel mileage in mind, there isn't much more you can do we decided. However, he told me about an organization he belonged to and their outstanding fuel program. The National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC) soon enlisted a new member on their roles as I joined in March of this year. Since joining NASTC, I've saved $522 off of the pump price for my fuel purchases. The NASTC Quality Plus Fuel Card is administered by Fleet One and has over 4,500 locations to choose from around the country. Members of our network purchase over 25 million gallons a month, so with that type of buying power to leverage, the savings are substantial.
Most leased owner-operators can buy discounted fuel through their company terminals and internal networks. If you're an independent owner-operator like Henry and I, you're out there on your own. You cannot thrive in this business paying retail credit price for fuel. You need to join a fuel purchasing network and start saving. NASTC isn't the only organization offering a cost saving fuel network so investigate a little and find one that works well for you. I was contacted this week by a salesman from another fuel network that had a pretty good deal as well.
In conclusion, what could you do with an extra $522 in 7 months? I used to set aside 33% of my revenue towards fuel purchases, now I've trimmed that number to 25%. I was able to give myself an 8% raise! Most of you can do much better than I can due to your operation so get with it! That was easy money to save and when you combine that with aerodynamics and better driving, you're on your way to being miles ahead of the competition.