Software Can Help Find Cheaper Fuel

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The recent upswing in diesel prices has truckers scrambling to find the fuel stops that offer the best deals, which can be a daunting task if they don’t use the right tools. But there is some relief.

Several companies have developed applications that help carriers get the most diesel for their dollar, showing them the fuel purchasing locations have the cheapest fuel on any given day.

Comdata Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn., has software called GeoFUEL 2000 that delivers to its users daily fuel prices from about 4,000 truck stops across the country, a company spokesman said.

Once a day, the company sends out the updated fuel price information via a dial-up network.

The software can also be customized to plot out the most efficient route for a driver. The route planning functions takes into account a number of factors, including fuel prices, distances traveled to get to certain fuel stops and tolls. Additionally, the software can recognize if the carrier has any negotiated fuel price discounts with particular truck stop chains.

Integrated Decision Support Corp., Richardson, Texas, has a fuel price software package called Expert Fuel. It features a database of diesel prices for at least 4,000 fuel stop locations, company vice president Ben Murphy said.

Like Comdata’s product, Expert Fuel’s prices are changed daily. Users download the updated prices from the Internet.

Both Comdata and IDSC say the bulk of their daily price information comes from the Oil Price Information Service. The OPIS transportation division also markets fuel price management software called Fuel-Link.

Broader transportation and fleet management software applications such as ALK Associates’ PCMiler and Rand McNally’s IntelliRoute can work in tandem with some fuel price applications as well.

T-Chek Systems, Minneapolis, uses the World Wide Web to deliver its fuel pricing information service. Subscribers to e-Stop at www.tchek.com get daily diesel fuel prices for 5,000 truck stops and 325 wholesale supply locations across North America, the company said.

The e-Stop prices are updated four times a day, and users can search for diesel information based on truck stop chain, network affiliation, price, city or zip code.

Prophesy Transportation Software also has an Internet fuel price information service called FuelLogic, at www.fuellogic.com.