Fuel Cost in the truck dispatching in USA

Trucks run on diesel, a product of oil refining.

For this reason, your fuel cost will be affected by the changing oil prices. The unfortunate thing is that a carrier has no control over the price of oil. High fuel prices force you to forward the cost to your customers to remain profitable. Unfortunately, you may become less price competitive and lose some customers. This may lead to running fewer trucks. And this is not good for a trucking business.

However, you can control, to a certain extent, the fuel efficiency of each truck in your fleet. Right from the beginning, you should work out the fuel efficiency that makes each truck profitable, and then control future fuel costs around that baseline figure. Of course, the way the driver operates the truck would influence fuel efficiency. Hence, having skilled drivers not only shields you from safety issues but can help keep your business running costs low as well.

Market Changes

When the U.S. economy grows, trucks’ demand follows suit because more freight needs to be moved. The opposite is also true. This means that the trucking business is seasonal. For example, when the holidays approach, shipping activity generally increases in anticipation of higher consumer demand. As such, spot rates also increase, resulting in trucking businesses making more money.

Weather Events

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes and winter storms, can negatively impact the truck industry. During these times, it’s challenging to drive and the number of loads delivered drops. This results in decreased revenues for affected trucking businesses. Weather delays can cost carriers somewhere between $2.2 to $3.5 billion annually. Unfortunately, as a trucking business owner you have no control over natural weather events.

Changing Government Regulations

A trucking company must comply with several groups of regulations, such as safety and tax. There are many government regulations and organizations that can potentially affect your carrier. Some of these government arms include the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSH), the Department of Labor (DOL) and many other federal, state, and local regulatory agencies. To keep up with all the necessary regulations costs money. And thus, changing regulations could affect your profitability.