Quick answer
You don't need a new platform. You need three habits: kill empty miles, plan fuel stops with the route, and validate detours with break-even math. Use the route fuel planner to do the third one in under a minute.
Empty miles are the most expensive miles
Deadhead and out-of-route miles burn fuel that produces no revenue. A 5% reduction in empty miles for a 25-truck fleet running 100,000 mi/truck/year is roughly $40,000–$70,000 a year, depending on diesel price and MPG. The fix isn't glamorous: better dispatch, better backhaul matching, and a willingness to wait for the next load.
Plan fuel stops with the route, not against it
The most common waste in fleet fuel spend is unplanned fueling — drivers stop wherever the gauge tells them to, often off-route, often out-of-network. Build a default fuel-stop layer into the route plan:
- Identify the 2–4 in-network stations that align with each major lane.
- Pair fuel stops with DOT or HOS stops to avoid extra drive time.
- Set policy: out-of-network fueling needs a reason.
The detour break-even rule
Detouring for cheaper fuel only saves money when:
fill_savings > detour_fuel_cost
(savings_per_gal × fill_gallons) > (2 × detour_miles ÷ MPG) × price_per_gal
| Tank fill | Savings needed for 5-mi detour at 8 MPG and $3.85/gal |
|---|---|
| 50 gal | ~10¢/gal |
| 100 gal | ~5¢/gal |
| 200 gal | ~2.5¢/gal |
Small-vehicle, small-fill detours rarely pay. Heavy-duty, large-fill detours often do.
Where routing software earns its keep
Beyond turn-by-turn:
- Fuel-optimized routing. Picks the best in-network fuel stop for the route as planned.
- Speed and idle limits. Coupled with coaching, not just scoring.
- Backhaul matching. Reduces deadhead between loads.
What to measure
- In-network gallons %. Should trend up.
- Out-of-route miles. Should trend down.
- Cost per mile. Always the final scoreboard.
Where to start this week
- Look at the last 30 days of fuel transactions. Count out-of-network gallons.
- Pick the top 3 lanes by miles. Identify 2 in-network stops per lane.
- Brief drivers. Set a 30-day in-network target.
- Use the route fuel planner to settle any detour-vs-fill arguments with math.
The route plan is a fuel plan, whether you treat it like one or not.
