Blog

Are you interested in moving intermodal freight and expanding your owner operator business? Download the free DrayNow app from the App Store or Google Play store, or click the button below.

As a truck driver, no matter what price diesel is at, you’re going to have to fill up your truck in order to make money on the road. Fuel is such an essential part of getting the job done, and already accounts for 39% of a trucker’s overall expenses. Any increase in price per gallon is going to eat away at profits. You may see rates on load boards going up along with diesel prices, but it still quite the expense to take on.

Looking at the most recent data provided by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), as demand for diesel fuel increases, prices have been going up with that demand.

Source: Energy Information Administration

As you can see from the graph above, diesel prices have been steadily rising at the beginning of 2022 and up $1+ per gallon compared to this time last year. With no end in sight to an increase in oil prices, these diesel prices may only keep rising. Trucking rates go up to account for the rise in diesel, but the high price is still going to increase expenses if you’re doing over-the-road trucking.

Intermodal trucking can help offset this cost and bring stability to your operation in response to volatile diesel prices. With short, local intermodal loads making up the majority of drayage runs, carriers can make more profit per mile while driving less miles per load.

When staying local, less miles can equal more profit. Picking up two trips in the Los Angeles area is going to have a lot less of an impact on your mileage and fuel expense than if you were to take freight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and then move on to another job in Fresno. The usual semi-truck only gets around 7 miles per gallon, so reducing mileage and increasing revenue any way you can is a guarantee to increase profits. Local freight pays well with less operating costs. It’s not just about gross revenue; it’s about your bottom line.

The cost of diesel is ever-changing and can chip away at your profits. Try intermodal trucking as a solution to these volatile diesel prices and download the DrayNow app to find power only intermodal loads in your area.