It's a Team's Life

No Truck Payment for 5 months?

By Linda Caffee
Posted Jan 28th 2013 12:22PM

Gaylene_front_half_truck_1.jpg

Comparing their 8.2-MPG to our lifetime average of 11.44 MPG using an average figure of $3.50 for fuel and running 100,000 miles a year the cost differences are startling.  

The fuel for a year in an 8.2-MPG truck is $42,682 while our fuel would be $30,567 for a difference of $12,115 in total fuel costs.   Running a truck that gets below par fuel mileage is a costly adventure and the difference could make several truck payments.

I then started playing with some of my other figures I keep on my spreadsheet.  

Fuel in 2012                                      $35,800

FSC in 2012                                        $29,482

Total spent on fuel less FSC              $ 6318            

I then went on to see how many out of route miles we ran which, would not be covered by our companies FSC and that came to a grand total of 11,818 miles.   The dead head figure is high due to bringing the truck home from California to be repaired and when we attend truck shows.  

Unauthorized miles                          11,818

Average cost per gallon fuel                         $   3.77

Our cost to deadhead                        $3,894

Take the unauthorized deadhead costs from our authorized fuel costs minus our FSC brings our cost of fuel cost to $2424 on all authorized miles. We are getting very close to having FSC cover our fuel costs on authorized miles.

Our company pays FSC on all authorized miles and that means; from delivery to suggested layover, from layover to pickup, and all loaded miles.   Out of route miles, or unauthorized dead head miles are not covered by the FSC.  

This was a fun exercise with numbers showing that good fuel mileage against average fuel mileage can be costly.   I got a little carried away playing with my figures but the results were interesting.   Knowing what our fuel costs per mile, helps us determine which loads we accept and which loads we turn down.  





Bob & Linda Caffee

TeamCaffee


Saint Louis MO

Expediters 8 years been out here on the road 13 years

[email protected]

 

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 


Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;


Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;


Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.