Aug 30, 2022

Free Fuel Sweepstakes Supporting National Truck Driver Awareness Week

Trucker Path, The Trucker Media Group, Sheetz and Kwik Trip/Kwik Star today announced a Free Fuel Sweepstakes in support of the 2022 National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW). Twenty fuel cards worth $500 each provided by Sheetz and Kwik Trip/Kwik Star will be given to sweepstakes winners who are active commercial vehicle drivers.

“Trucker Path is pleased to be able to join with Sheetz, Kwik Trip/Kwik Star and The Trucker Media Group to honor truck drivers for the work they do every day,” said Chris Oliver, CMO at Trucker Path. “Especially this year, with fuel prices at record high levels, the 2022 NTDAW Free Fuel Sweepstakes will help make a difference. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is a time to rally around the nation’s truck drivers who work hard delivering goods and have kept the economy on its feet despite facing unprecedented obstacles. We are thrilled to organize and sponsor this sweepstakes to show them the appreciation they deserve and recognize their dedication.”

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week runs from September 11-17, 2022. The annual celebration recognizes the significant contributions of the millions of professional truck drivers nationwide who safely and securely deliver essential goods and transport billions of tons of freight every year.

The 2022 NTDAW Free Fuel Sweepstakes sponsored by Trucker Path, The Trucker Media Group, Sheetz and Kwik Trip/Kwik Star is being held from August 18 through September 17. To be eligible to win one of 20 $500 fuel cards provided by Sheetz and Kwik Trip/Kwik Star, drivers must have a valid CDL and a USDOT number. The cards can be used for fuel and other items at Sheetz, Kwik Trip or Kwik Star locations. The sweepstakes is valid in all US states excluding Alaska, Florida, Hawaii and New York.

CLICK HERE to enter the 2022 NTDAW Free Fuel Sweepstakes.

Should owner-operators enlist a dispatch service or stick with load boards? The popular image of the owner-operator as a modern-day range rider, free and self-reliant, doesn’t always jibe with the idea of using a dispatch service. It’s a fair point. Load boards enable truckers to do-it-yourself dispatch pretty easily. There’s another side, though. Dispatch services free owner-operators to haul freight while sparing them from much of the business of trucking. There are a lot of considerations in the dispatch service versus load board debate. The following is an objective tally of the pros and cons of a load board-only strategy versus the dispatch-service strategy. We at Trucker Path think we can toggle the debate pretty fairly as we offer both a <a href="https://truckerpath.com/truckloads/free-load-board/">load board</a> and a <a href="http://truckerpath.com/dispatch">dispatch service</a>. So whatever side you choose—no offense. Cost Considerations On the surface, self-dispatching is a no-brainer. It’s primarily free to use load boards. Dispatch services, on the other hand, charge for their services. Essentially, they charge for doing something an owner-operator can do themselves by checking the load boards, negotiating and booking freight. In working with a dispatch service, you’ll be giving up a portion of your hard-earned revenue. These companies typically charge from 5 to 10% of the income for the load. Other dispatch services charge a flat fee per load or per week or month. The flip side of this is that self-dispatching takes time which carries its own cost. For example, if it takes you three hours to find, negotiate and book a $3,000 load, it could cost you less to let a dispatch service do it for you. For example, if they charged a 5% fee or $150, based on the standard operational cost of trucking of $70 per hour, self-dispatching would cost you $210—$60 more!* On top of that, popular load boards are only free up to a certain number of loads, like five per day, for example. If a carrier wants to access more than that, they often have to pony up for a subscription. The Issue of Control With a load board, you have complete control in booking your own freight. You say where and when you’ll run. In contrast, a dispatch service decides which loads they bring you based on your preferred commodities and lanes. You may lose some say when it comes to the details but you can always reject the dispatch service’s load offers. You’ll also lose control over relationships. The dispatch service is interfacing with the shipper or broker so they in effect “own” the relationship. The trade-off is that in using a dispatch service you’ll gain more control over your schedule and how much time you spend on the road. The dispatcher handles the details of the load and manages customer care. If you want to just focus on driving, you may be happy to give up control of these chores. Negotiating Rates With load boards, it’s easier than ever to find freight, bid and book loads. But easier doesn’t always mean better. Consistently charging competitive rates still takes time and effort. The only way to do that is by maintaining a pulse of the market and knowing how far to push brokers. Someone who handles negotiations for a living is always going to be better at it than someone who does it less often. It’s a matter of experience. So a dispatcher has an advantage when it comes to getting the best rate from brokers. It’s not uncommon for a dispatcher to negotiate a load with a rate per mile 20%+ more than the national average, and that can more than cover the 5 – 10% cost of using a dispatch service. Dispatchers have the advantage of knowing going rates. They’re watching multiple load boards all day. Maintaining this breadth of vision is time-consuming for an owner-operator to achieve. Dispatching services work for the carrier, so it is their mission to make sure the carrier is paid top dollar in rate and maximizing accessorial fees according to industry standards. Business Development Load boards expose carriers to shippers and loads en masse. They make it possible to find new freight and be found by shippers by being listed on the load board. For an owner-operator to significantly grow their business, they need to take it to the next level by developing lanes and solidifying repeat loads. That takes time and effort that a small carrier may not have the stomach for. When it comes to business development, dispatch services provide an advantage. A carrier can save time and effort by plugging into a dispatcher’s existing network. By leveraging dispatchers’ connections, carriers can quickly establish themselves in lanes and land repeat loads. With a dispatching service, carriers also get someone to advise them on the lanes with the most opportunity and to help them navigate the ebbs and flows of the market. The Administrative Load If you’re running one or two trucks, a sticky-note system may work just fine—and it’s free. That can quickly change as you add drivers and vehicles and things get more complicated. One of the last things an owner-operator wants to become is a paper jockey. Especially for small, ambitious carriers, the burden can limit growth. A dispatch service can be worth its weight in gold when it comes to the additional services most provide. These include: assigning loads and scheduling drivers, maintaining hours of service records, managing weather delays or other issues, handling track & trace check calls, and ensuring drivers equipment and drivers remain in compliance. Billing and Cash Flow Any owner-operator knows cash flow is the key to success—but bill collecting is exhausting work, strains relationships with shippers and just wears on the independent soul of a trucker. With a self-dispatching strategy, you’re on your own unless you hire a bookkeeper or factoring company and then oversee them. In contrast, dispatch services often wrangle the paperwork associated with delivering and billing for a load. This paperwork duty can include getting invoices to the shipper or a <a href="http://www.tafs.com">factoring company</a>, doing collections follow-ups, and payment processing—perhaps the biggest load on carriers’ minds. What’s best? What’s best comes down to a business decision. The success of any owner-operator hinges on the numbers. If you opt to dispatch-it-yourself, just make sure you record how much time you’re spending and use our handy $70 per hour as a rule of thumb. You’ll know when it’s time to corral your costs, and there are plenty of dispatch services out there waiting to help. *American Transportation Research Institute’s 2021 estimate for the operational costs of trucking is $66.87 per hour, which we increased to $70 per hour to adjust for inflation.

Aug 31, 2022

Trucker Path Community Identifies Locations with The Most Parking Availability <blockquote>Real-time driver input identifies stops that drivers can rely on most to get some rest</blockquote> PHOENIX – May 3, 2022 – Trucker Path, the most comprehensive and most used mobile app for North American commercial truck drivers, today announced the top 20 truck parking locations with the most parking availability. Findings were based on real-time input from drivers using the Trucker Path app relied upon by more than one million truck drivers for mapping, navigation, parking availability, weigh station status, and more. <img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2022/05/Picture1.png" alt="" /> “Truck drivers using the Trucker Path app are asked to share information about how many parking spaces are available at truck parking locations and other points of interest” said Chris Oliver, CMO at Trucker Path. “We simply ask them if there are many, some or no available parking spots available and they are happy to share because they know how much this information helps other drivers avoid stops that don’t have available parking, saving them time and making their trip more productive. It speaks volumes about our Trucker Path community and how they use our app to help out their fellow drivers.” Driver input helps other drivers learn everything they need to know about the 300,000+ points of interest in the Trucker Path app including amenities, fuel prices, open/closed status, wait times, etc. About Trucker Path Phoenix-based Trucker Path is the provider of a wide range of truck driver-centric mobility products. Its Trucker Path app is currently in use by over 1 million professional truck drivers. Offering best-in-class navigation with truck optimized routing, the Trucker Path app also provides access to vital up-to-date information about truck stops, real-time available parking, fuel prices, weigh station status, and truck scales and wash locations. The company also offers TruckLoads a digital freight exchange that connects drivers, carriers and brokers; COMMAND™ the industry’s first and only Operations & Driver Relationship (ODR) platform that provides small to mid-size fleets with the necessary driver and TMS technologies to successfully run a fleet; and DISPATCH, a personal dispatch service designed specifically to serve the back-office needs of owner-operators and small carriers. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.truckerpath.com">www.truckerpath.com</a>. Media Contact: Susan Fall LaunchIt Public Relations 858-490-1050 susan@launchitpr.com

May 04, 2022

The Pros and Cons of Fuel Optimization Tools for Trucking With diesel prices up more than $2.30 a gallon from this time last year, finding the best prices at the pump is about more than bragging rights these days. It’s survival for owner operators and serious impact to the bottom line of fleets. Fuel optimization tools, like the one in our Trucker Path COMMAND platform, hold huge promise. But that promise comes with a few “ifs” that truckers, fleet managers and fleet owners need to give heavy consideration to. Everyone who’s ever hunted best fuel prices knows the thrill of bagging the lowest price on the lane—as well as that empty feeling that comes from wondering whether the miles and time you spent finding 5-cents a gallon in savings was a wash. Or worse yet, ended up costing you more. Let’s lay bare the pros and cons of fuel optimization tools and present five real-lane examples of when a fuel optimization app would be a winner or an occasion for whining. Pros of Fuel Optimization Tools <li>Thousands of dollars in fuel savings, depending on the lane</li> <li>Removes decision-making. Dispatchers provide specific fuel stops in addition to the navigation for the route</li> <li>Tools stipulate everything: the where, when and how much fuel to purchase</li> <li>Out-of-route miles accounted for in fuel stop recommendations</li> <li>Every detail considered. Fuel plan accounts for equipment mpg, existing fuel levels and load weight </li> Cons of Fuel Optimization Tools <li>Out-of-route miles, while generally limited to less than a few miles per stop, can negate some or all of the savings achieved through lower fuel prices</li> <li>Tools often prescribe more fuel stops. More time spent fueling eats into HOS and increases operating costs</li> <li>Added time. Driving further to low-cost pumps and adding stops can threaten tight delivery windows</li> <li>Drivers don’t get to choose their favorite stops for food and amenities</li> <li>High cost of technology as many optimization tools are designed for larger fleets</li> Success Depends on Number of Stops An analysis of results from a sample of lanes compiled through our Trucker Path COMMAND platform and the Smart Fuel Planner revealed that the true value of a fuel optimization tool comes down to the number of stops prescribed. With a fuel optimized route, drivers often make more stops than they would with a “drive-til-near-empty” strategy. When the cost of making those extra stops outweighs the savings benefits, it’s best to opt out. The good news is that in most cases and most lanes throughout the U.S. using a fuel optimization tool is well worth it, even when you consider the additional stops. Background Into Our Analysis In our analysis, we quantified the fuel savings that could be garnered at today’s diesel prices using our Smart Fuel Planner for five sample lanes. Then we determined the number of stops a driver would make filling up whenever they were near empty on long-haul runs—about every 945 miles by our estimate. We compared those numbers with the number of stops a fuel-optimized route would require. Most of the time there were more stops required on fuel optimized routes. To estimate the cost associated with the downtime that comes from these extra stops, we determined the average fuel stop is a half hour. What’s that half hour translate to in dollars? We used the American Transportation Research Institute’s 2021 estimate for the operational costs of trucking. They put the number at $66.87 per hour, which we increased to $70 per hour to adjust for inflation. All the results are based on lanes input into Trucker Path COMMAND Smart Fuel Planner, assuming a 100-gallon starting fill, 135-gallon tank, and 7 mpg for an 80,000-pound truck. We captured the fuel price data one day in June 2022. While data for the sample routes below were all gathered at the same time, it's important to note that fuel savings vary day-to-day and by lane. One day a stop may be lowest, and the next day, not so much. Savings Analysis for 5 Common Lanes Chicago to San Francisco: 6 Additional Stops Roundtrip - Annual Savings of $7,909 On a single roundtrip that would mean $659 in savings and 6 extra fuel stops. <img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2022/07/Picture2.jpg" alt="" Width=600 /> <center>Exhibit 1. Trucker Path COMMAND Smart Fuel Planner for one-way Chicago to San Francisco trip. </center> Seattle to Washington D.C.: 5 Additional Stops Roundtrip - Annual Savings of $3,132 On a fuel-optimized roundtrip that would mean $261 in net savings and 5 extra fuel stops. Looks like fuel optimizer is paying for dinners. New Orleans to Denver: 1 Additional Stop Roundtrip - Annual Savings of $492 On a fuel-optimized roundtrip that would mean $41 in net savings and 1 extra fuel stop. Worth it? Sure. Especially at a fleet scale. Los Angeles to Dallas: 1 Additional Stop Roundtrip - Annual Savings of $9,768 On a fuel-optimized roundtrip that would mean $814 in net savings and 1 extra fuel stop. Clearly this lane was the optimization of the nation. Miami to NYC: 3 Additional Stops Roundtrip - Annual Savings of $0 In this case, fuel optimization netted no savings when you figured in the 3 additional stops. It’s a good example of how some days, on some lanes the extra stops make fuel optimization not worth it. A Key Solution for Today’s Fuel Crunch Our analysis showed that in almost all cases fuel optimization tools can save money on fuel. The exception is that many times it may require more fuel stops than driving until the driver is near empty. In our analysis, this case was an outlier and didn’t result in a loss. That makes fuel optimization tools, like what’s in Trucker Path COMMAND, a key tool in today’s economy. Diesel prices are higher than they’ve ever been and the chances are slim of the federal government rolling back taxes like they did for gas. The time to optimize is now. There is real money to be saved out there with smart and dynamic fuel-finding solutions—especially for ones that make it easy for drivers by considering all the variables and curating fuel-friendly routes for them.

Jul 20, 2022