ATLANTA - Paul Citarella of FleetCards USA, an online fleet card industry expert that acts as a trusted advisor in matching fleet fuel cards to small and medium sized businesses, recently participated as a speaker in an educational webinar hosted by Fuelman called the "Hidden Cost Savings: 10 New Ways to Reduce Your Fuel Spend." Here are some key insights from the session, courtesy of FleetCards USA's trends advisory council - FleetCards TrendWatch.

As part of the session, more than 300 participants, spanning from large and small business owner and fleet managers, answered three industry polls.  The first poll asked what was  the participants' main concern with their fleet's fueling expenses. The majority (38.7%) responded with fluctuating fuel prices/budgeting. The second poll asked if the participants  believed that fuel prices would rise in the future. An overwhelming majority (93.6%) responded yes. These answers directly correlate with one of the hidden cost savings tips - Price  Protection - mentioned during the seminar, yet this is a preventative measure that many businesses still don't take advantage of.  

"Fuel price protection allows a company to pre-pay for fuel at a fixed price for a designated time. This allows business owners to know exactly what their fuel spend is so they can budget more accurately," says Paul Citarella.  "If fuel prices rise, the company is also guaranteed the lower rate, which can be a significant savings for minimal effort that businesses big and small should leverage."  For example, if a company locked in a maximum price at 3 dollars a gallon, and then by July gas increases to $4.41, the company would save $1.41 per gallon.  With a purchase price of 500 gallons of fuel per month, the savings would be over $8,000 in one year.  

The third poll asked if the company currently has a policy for driver behavior.  Surprisingly 57.8% responded yes.  As another one of the hidden cost savings tips was identified as correcting driver behavior, the poll indicated that many companies are already on the right track. Driver behavior can drastically affect fuel expenses. For example, speeding on the highway lowers a vehicle's fuel economy and accelerating too fast, braking too often, braking too hard or idling all waste fuel.  Up to 60 percent of wasted fuel is due to acceleration issues, correcting drivers' habits can offer a simple fix.  "Starting with a policy makes sure a driver is aware of their responsibilities and the companies expectations up front," says Paul Citarella.

For more information about the webinar "Hidden Cost Savings: 10 New Ways to Reduce Your Fuel Spend" and to view videos from the session, visit www.fuelman.com.

About FleetCards USA

FleetCards USA (www.fleetcardusa.com) offers valuable fleet card facts, industry news, and information from numerous fleet fuel card programs to companies of all sizes across the USA from small entrepreneurial organizations to large public corporations.  FleetCards USA has partnerships with leading industry fueling networks and fleet card providers including: BP, ARCO, Chevron, Texaco, CITGO, and Fuelman. With its proprietary FleetMatch^TM system, and a team of industry veterans at the helm of its operations, FleetCards USA acts as a trusted advisor to its customers in all sectors from retail to transportation to government.