Paschall Truck Lines

The Challenge:

In business for more than 70 years, Kentucky-based Paschall Truck Lines (PTL) relied on local intelligence combined with negotiated discounts to create a static map of approved fuel stops within each lane. The approach did not account for the significant daily local variances in wholesale and retail fuel costs. The company management needed a way to access local prices to confirm that they were really saving money on a daily basis. With nearly 1,700 power units, even a few cents per gallon could make all the difference in fuel purchase management even when prices are low.

The Solution:

Enter Expert Fuel from Trimble Transportation. With Expert Fuel PTL can easily download local pricing every day to make sure their drivers are purchasing fuel at the lowest available price. PTL, a leading irregular-route carrier, has realized significant annual savings with detailed daily wholesale and retail pricing feeds to identify and implement best-cost fueling plans for each vehicle.

Expert Fuel has also given the carrier additional negotiating leverage with regional and national fuel vendors. Rather than base PTL’s discount solely on purchase commitments, some retailers now bid on the business with a focus on providing best-cost options within each lane.

The Result:

Expert Fuel blends current, accurate fuel pricing and routing data with PTL’s dispatch and mobile communications systems. It automatically generates fuel purchase and route plans for drivers. The resulting plans encompass highway-by-highway directions and monitor driver compliance with fuel-buying instructions, which include the number of gallons to purchase at each stop.

In addition to current fuel prices, Expert Fuel assesses vehicle fuel level and consumption; network, IFTA and state tax implications; route and tank-fill policies; OOR miles and more.

“I had no specific expectation of benefits when we launched Expert Fuel and was actually rather skeptical—but I was wrong. This has been a very positive step for us.”

– Mike Alexander, Driver Service Director