Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Trucking companies save millions in fuel costs

Trucking companies can take steps to save money on fuel by focusing on their drivers. Fleet Owner Magazine and Truckload Carriers Association are hosting a webinar next week on this very topic entitled: Strategies and technologies for coping with the high cost of fuel.

The concept is not new, but is gaining a lot more attention this year due to the high cost of fuel in the US. By measuring and then altering driver behavior, trucking companies can dramatically reduce their fuel consumption. In the past, these tactics were used in an effort to improve safety, identify & retain strong drivers and increase customer service. Measurements were commonly focused on speeding incidents, rapid decelerations, unknown stops and on-time arrivals. Today’s measurements are now more focused on idle time, MPG and out of route miles.

“Through monitoring with Cadec, we were able to increase MPGs by a half-mile per gallon, saving $500,000 in fuel in the first year alone.” Northwest Food Products Transportation

"Engine idling once averaged 40% of the time engines were turned on but has dropped to 3%. Speeding events averaged about 16,000 per month but now have fallen to 200 per month.” Nicholas & Co.

“Monitoring drivers through Cadec and associated remedial training can help us save $750,000 in one year.” Morning Star

“Poland Spring achieved a 41 percent reduction in idle time and will save about $21,000 in fuel in 2008 with Cadec.” Poland Spring

“Our savings will be close to $300,000 per year. Cadec will be the key to reducing our transportation costs while improving service to our customers.” G&C Foods


Driver scorecards and key performance indicator dashboards are now a critical component of fleet management systems to gain executive-level visibility into transportation operations. For more information, check out these useful links:

www.cadec.com/resources
www.blueskytech.com