How to Cut Fuel Costs Without Buying New Trucks: 5 Moves That Work
Route optimization, empty-mile reduction, and fuel-purchase discipline deliver measurable savings for small fleets: no capital outlay required.
Tess Crawford
Markets, Rates, Fuel & Carrier Business
Tess Crawford tracks the money flowing through trucking, spot and contract rates, diesel and crude markets, fuel surcharges, lane capacity, freight demand, LTL tonnage and yield, plus the carrier-business side: bankruptcies, M&A, layoffs, and insurance pricing. She writes for the dispatcher checking the load board between calls and the small-fleet owner reading the P&L over coffee.
Averitt Breaks Ground on Charlotte, Louisville Campuses, 275 Jobs Coming
The Cookeville carrier is doubling down on Southeast capacity ahead of a freight rebound, adding 379 dock doors and 260,000 square feet by end of 2027.
5,183 Freight and Warehouse Workers Laid Off Across 20 States
FreshRealm bankruptcy, 3PL contract losses, and supply chain restructuring drive cuts at warehouses, trucking companies, and automotive suppliers nationwide.
Two Small Fleets Show How Natural Gas Cuts Fuel Costs Without Scale
Detmar Logistics runs 180 trucks with its own CNG stations. FTC Transportation runs 25 and buys efficiency instead. Both strategies pencil out.
States Pitch Trucking Industry at Commerce Dept. Investment Summit
Economic development officials at SelectUSA 2026 courted both foreign capital and domestic trucking companies looking to relocate or expand.
STG Logistics Cuts $1B Debt, Exits Bankruptcy This Month
Court approval clears Dublin, Ohio intermodal marketer to emerge from Chapter 11 with 90% debt reduction and $150M fresh capital.
Brent Crude Holds Above $111 as Iran War Keeps Oil Markets Tight
International benchmark fell 0.7% to $111.39/barrel May 19: still 11% above pre-war levels and keeping diesel elevated for small fleets.
Federal Gas Tax Suspension Floated as Diesel Hits $4.50, 24¢ Cut Eyed
White House and bipartisan lawmakers discuss suspending the 24.4¢/gal federal diesel tax through October as fuel prices sit $1.37 above year-ago levels.
FedEx, UPS Hold Top LTL Spots: ArcBest Climbs to No. 9 in 2026
FleetOwner's 2026 for-hire package and LTL rankings show the top eight unchanged, but ArcBest moved up one spot and Central Transport entered at No. 10.
U.S. Exported Half of Strategic Reserve Oil, Diesel Still Tight
Nearly half the crude released from the SPR left the country, a sign global supply tightness is keeping diesel and fuel prices elevated for fleets.
Spot Rates Hit Multiyear Highs: Dry Van $2.01, Reefer $2.36, Flatbed $2.70
All three equipment types posted year-over-year gains above 23% as weekly rates climbed across the board.
Diesel Hits $5.66, Brent Crude Jumps to $108 on Iran Supply Shock
Strait of Hormuz closure drives Brent crude to $107.97, up from $70 pre-war. Diesel near record high as bond yields climb and Fed rate-cut bets evaporate.