Headlines are screaming:
- Fuel Prices Expected to Rise Again
- U.S. Fuel Prices Continue to Climb
- Diesel Prices Up 2.5 cents
I could go on, but you get the picture. For the last month or so fuel prices have been steadily moving upward and signs are that trend will continue.
So this is a good time — although from where I sit there is no bad time — to remind fleets to make improving fuel efficiency a top priority. I know when diesel prices took a dive some fleets took their eyes off fuel economy figuring that they did not need to continue to make investments in technologies that would get them more miles to a gallon.
Other fleets look at fuel economy from a longer perspective and continued to incrementally lower their fuel costs by increasing their MPGs either through technology, engaging drivers in the process or through making operational changes.
If you want back into the fuel efficiency game, a good place to start is seeing what your peers are doing. We’ll be coming out with the results of our latest Fleet Fuel Study in the next month or so. In the meantime go to www.nacfe.org to check out the 2015 study.
Another good source for information that can help you determine which fuel saving technology makes most sense for your operations can be found in the technology guide at www.truckingefficiency.org. We’ve explored more that 60 currently available technologies and practices to try to come up with some realistic fuel savings from investing in them as well as what the payback period would be.
Armed with this information maybe next time fuel prices dip you’ll be one of those evangelists who reminds people they have to continue to make investments regardless of whether fuel is $4 a gallon or $2.
