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Paid back: Aiding owner-operators on fuel
08/12/2008
There is enough for owner-operators to worry about without having to
keep a constant eye on what diesel prices are averaging. A number of
carriers have programs in place to alleviate that concern through
surcharge programs that pay a significant portion of contracted
carriers’ fuel bills.
Mike Bethea, Schneider director of
operations for owner-operators, said that the company has a fuel
surcharge matrix in its Fuel Protection Program that lists the amount
owner-operators will receive at every level of prices, up to $6 per
gallon. All owner-operators contracted to Schneider are eligible,
regardless of miles traveled or time spent driving for the company,
Bethea added.
“There is a corresponding compensation that is in
the contract that owner-operators sign,” Bethea told FleetOwner. “So if
diesel is between $3.50 and $3.55 a gallon, for example, it pays X
amount.” He added that the chart is not a secret—it is given to the
owner-operator when they sign the contract, so there are no surprises.
One
of the important facets of the plan, Bethea said, is that
owner-operators have a financial benefit to be more fuel-efficient, as
the program pays per mile--so the further a driver can go on a tank of
diesel, the higher the payout.
According to Schneider, although
the average diesel price last week was $4.502 per gallon, its
owner-operators are paying an average of $1.085 per gallon, as they are
receiving $0.5025 per mile for an average of 6.8 miles per gallon.
Drivers averaging more than 6.8 mpg are paying even less. “We have some
guys doing seven mpg, and their net cost is under a dollar,” Bethea
added.
As the Department of Energy’s average fuel price goes up,
the payout increases, Bethea said—if diesel hits $6 per gallon,
owner-operators would pay an average of $1.05 per gallon.
“What
I believe is unique about our program is that as fuel increases, the
driver gets more of a benefit,” Bethea said. “As long as he doesn’t
erode the miles per gallon, the benefits will continue.”
Schneider
is certainly not the only carrier who has a fuel program for contracted
owner-operators. Daily Express recently announced the Empty Mile Fuel
Surcharge Assistance program, which compensates for empty miles at a
variable rate from eight to 49 cents per mile, while paying 100% of the
empty mile fuel surcharge to the owner-operator, the company said.
The
surcharge program follows Daily Express’s Premium Loaded Mile Surcharge
program, which pays owner-operators 1 cent per loaded mile for every 5
cent fuel cost above $1.10 per gallon. With the national average
currently at $4.65, Daily Express is paying a surcharge of $0.71 per
mile, the company said.
"We recognize the financial impact of
empty miles on our owner-operator fleet, and we are taking the
necessary measures to protect these drivers during these challenging
economic times,” said Daily Express CEO Todd Long. “Keeping our
owner-operator fleet profitable is essential to the service we provide
to our customers all over the country."
Justin Carretta, online news editor
Fleet Owner, Justin Carretta, online news editor, http://fleetowner.com/management/owner_operator_fuel_payback_0812/