Understanding how much money your trucking company makes—and spends—on a per-mile basis is crucial to booking profitable loads.

To better calculate your fleet’s costs, revenue and profit per mile, you must determine the fuel efficiency of each truck you operate. Specifically, you need to know how much money you spend on diesel by calculating your truck's price per mile of fuel.

On average, semi-trucks get about 6.5 miles out of every fuel gallon. That performance varies greatly, however, depending on where you drive, how you drive and the age of the truck.

Today’s motor vehicles are safer than ever before. Innovations like rearview cameras, electronic stability systems and collision avoidance systems are all designed to cut down on road accidents and injuries.

So why is the number of deaths on U.S. highways currently on the rise?

The reason, according to over-the-road truckers we spoke with in October, is poor driving. Many truck drivers believe the motoring public—whom they often refer to as “four-wheelers”—is driving more recklessly at higher speeds while paying less attention to large trucks and the road in general.

Distracted driving is dangerous and more drivers than ever are admitting to using their smartphones while driving. 

A Leading Cause of Highway Deaths

More than 3,000 people die every year from cashes caused by distracted driving. According to an analysis of over 65 million vehicle trips, distracted driving occured in 36 percent of trips nationwide over a six-month period.

When operating a business, there may be certain times when fluctuations in cash flow become particularly challenging. You might find yourself considering a Merchant Cash Advance (MCA), among other financing options, to help. Before you apply for an MCA, though, it’s wise to make sure you understand exactly how MCAs work and the impact they can have on the financial health of your business.

Cash versus credit pricing is exactly like it sounds – a merchant selling fuel may charge a customer different prices based on how they choose to pay for their fuel, whether using cash or credit card. The cash price is less expensive than the credit price. This is because when a fuel station charges more for credit fuel purchases (or less for cash), they are trying to offset the processing fees they are being charged by credit card companies every time their customers swipe a card.

What is factoring?

Factoring is when a factoring company purchases your open invoices. In simplified terms, you send a factoring company your invoices and they pay you the invoice total minus a factoring fee. You get the money within 24 hours instead of waiting 30 – 60 days for your customer to pay, immediately increasing your cash flow.