It's really hard to believe that diesel fuel prices and gas prices are falling, especially if your local gas station hasn't lowered prices yet. Ok, I realize that MOST of us have not seen the lower fleet fueling prices at the pump yet. This is basically because most retail locations are taking their time lowering their prices—and your fueling costs. But yesterday, in the fairly small town where I live, the price for gas at a low-cost retail station was down to $3.93 a gallon. A half mile away it was $4.09 a gallon, and half mile in the other direction it was $4.19 a gallon. Knowing the fueling market as well as I do I recognize that even that low-cost retail station is making a nice margin. The others are knocking it out of the park, but that isn't good for consumers. Keep watching, prices will drop down near you soon, fueling costs will get better, trust me.... Read More

Yes, crude oil had its biggest weekly loss in terms of dollars since 1983. 5 straight days of loss has brought crude oil down to a Friday close of $97.47 a barrel. You might ask yourself why are my diesel fuel prices still high? It will take a few weeks for it to hit the retail market. For the week crude lost almost $17 a barrel. For every dollar crude goes up or down it relates close to 3 cents a gallon for diesel fuel prices or gas prices. I hope a light bulb is going off in your head right now because yes a $17 loss to the barrel means diesel fuel prices should go down 51 cents per gallon and the same is true with gas.... Read More

It certainly seems that "outsourcing" is the buzzword across most industries these days. Fleet fuel management is no exception. If you are the president, finance or operations manager, or even fuel manager at a fleet company, you should already know that now is the time to outsource your fuel management. I'm not talking about outsourcing to a company located outside of this country, say India or China. There are companies with fuel management experts located right here in the good ol' U-S of A. They have extensive experience with diesel fuel prices, fuel cards, mobile fueling and overall fuel management in almost every aspect of the business.... Read More

by Sergio Torres, VP Engineering, Descartes

Posted under the Mobile Resource Management category, this article first appeared on March 9, 2011 in Descartes' Making Things Move Blog.... Read More

Unless you've been living on Gilligan's Island with the Skipper and his crew you've certainly heard about the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. An explosion of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon last year killed eleven workers and spewed untold barrels of oil into Gulf waters. The full extent of the damage won't be known for years, maybe decades, but the repercussions will most certainly be enormous. But what can businesses like ours learn from this event?... Read More

It seems every year the transportation industry faces new perils during the winter months and this year is no different. Currently the weather forecasters are predicting a frigid winter with less than normal snow fall. Among the challenges above and beyond the weather, fuel prices are inching higher again and most states and many municipalities have mandated idling restrictions. Here are a few simple tips to help maintain your equipment and fuel tanks.... Read More