Motorists can expect gas prices to rise in the coming week, but still be cheaper than the end of 2019.
The national average for gasoline is 11 cents more expensive than last month, but 33 cents cheaper than last year.
Everything fleet does revolves around money: asset acquisition, fuel to operate assets, maintenance to keep assets operational, and myriad other miscellaneous, incidental expenses ranging from tolls, parking tickets, and waste disposal fees to taxes.
With the cost of fuel representing 60% of the total fleet budget, fleet managers are looking for opportunities to reduce expenditures ranging from rightsizing, route optimization, telematics, personal use, and modifying driver behavior.
Driver safety and the reduction of fuel consumption are not mutually exclusive goals. There are many similarities between fuel-efficient driving techniques and safe driving techniques. In fact, there’s a direct correlation between safe driving and fuel efficiency. It’s been proven: the safer the driver, the higher the miles per gallon.
Despite a recent streak of falling gasoline prices, and predictions of future lower prices, they’re on the way up again, with the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline hitting $3.58 on Monday, May 13.
Fleets are seeing significant savings by focusing on improving the fuel economy of existing vehicles and acquiring newer, more fuel-efficient models.
Operating costs will trend higher in the 2011 calendar-year, primarily due to an incremental increase in fuel prices, which represent the largest fleet operating expense category. Another factor contributing to upward pressure on operating expenses will be higher maintenance costs, primarily due to extended replacement cycling. Beyond 2011, fleet acquisition costs are anticipated increase to meet higher CAFE requirements.
Reducing unnecessary idling is the simplest and easiest way for a fleet to reduce fuel costs. Besides wasting fuel, excess idling also causes unnecessary emissions, noise pollution, and needless engine wear-and-tear. The amount of unnecessary idling varies by fleet, but some fleets have recorded idling as much as 35 percent of the time.
As we start a new year, here is my forecast of the top 10 trends that will influence truck fleet management in the coming years.