According to the United States Department of Energy, owner-operator truck drivers filling up their tanks this week are paying an average cost of $4.502 per gallon for diesel fuel — one of the highest rates in history.
However, those hauling freight for Schneider National, the nation’s largest truckload carrier, are paying far less. Thanks to the company’s Fuel Protection Program, Schneider owner-operators are only paying $1.085 a gallon this week.
Schneider National launched its Fuel Protection Program back in 2001, after fuel prices soared in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Owner-operators have been instrumental in providing needed capacity to customers since the company’s inception in 1935,” said Mike Bethea, Schneider’s director of operations for owner-operators. “In return, we feel compelled to support our valued owner-operators in this challenging fuel environment. Not only are we offering the miles and freight they need in this tough economy, but we have a Fuel Protection Program that is second to none.
“A high number of our owner-operators are driving for efficiencies and improving their miles per gallon. These smart driving techniques enable them to take full advantage of the Fuel Protection Program and receive relief from high fuel prices. Every one of our owner-operators has the opportunity to realize a great cost savings with our Fuel Protection Program.”
Schneider’s Fuel Protection Program is based on a mathematical model; an example can best illustrate how it works: Assume that an owner-operator averages 6.8 mpg and is purchasing fuel at $4.502 a gallon this week. Through Schneider’s Fuel Protection Program, the owner is compensated an additional $0.5025 per mile — the figure Schneider has determined to correlate with fuel costs ranging between $4.500 and $4.549 per gallon — over and above the regular mileage rate. This owner–operator is now receiving $3.417 toward the cost of each gallon of fuel (6.8 mpg x $0.5025). As a result, the owner–operator’s net fuel cost is a mere $1.085 per gallon ($4.502 per gallon–$3.417 per gallon).
Since the program is designed to give owner–operators the financial support they need to remain successful, the protection increases the higher fuel prices go. In fact, every time the Department of Energy’s average price jumps, Schneider’s Fuel Protection Program per-mile payout increases not only by a corresponding rate, but also at an increased compensation rate. While many carriers offer fuel surcharge programs, Schneider National’s is believed to be unique in this regard.
“If it wasn’t for Schneider’s Fuel Protection Program, I couldn’t leave the house because fuel costs would be absolutely intolerable,” said Mike Zuzich, a Schneider owner-operator from Riceville, Tenn., with 26 years of professional driving experience and a truck that gets about seven mpg. “It does exactly what it sets out to do and is quite honestly the difference between being in business and not in business.”
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