Poll: Fuel Buyers Prefer Truck Stops

PHOENIX — A new survey, announced at the annual conference of Natso Inc., suggests that fleet managers don’t always practice what they preach. According to the various fueling options available to them, fleet managers choose 61.5% of the time to buy fuel at truck stops, usually not the least expensive option.

“Clearly other items such as convenience of truck stop facilities and availability of driver services are important factors in fueling decisions,” said researcher Thomas M. Corsi. “If price alone were the determining factor, fueling at card-lock facilities would be attracting significantly more business.”

Natso is the national trade association representing the truck stop and travel plaza industry. The study was commissioned by Natso’s education and research arm, the Natso Foundation.

The study by the University of Maryland found that fleet managers obtain 34% of the fuel their trucks consume from company-owned facilities. They get a little more than 2% from mobile fueling trucks at random sites and only 1.5% from card-lock facilities.

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