As far as I know, NASTC is a family run business that has no affiliation with Fleet One which is the old TransPlatinum corporation. NASTC seems to know that FleetOne isn’t the best company to work with, but I think they are the company that gave NASTC what it wanted. I absolutely cannot stand FleetOne, but to save the money I’m saving on fuel, I will be willing to deal with the morons. I actually used to think that they were owned by OOIDA, because they exhibit the same level of competence and professionalism, but they are actually TransPlatinum under a different name. TCH gave me 10 days of “float” and a $10k limit. In spite of my 815 credit score, Fleet One would not extend more than $2500 to me. Their excuse was that I had an account through OOIDA for three years that I only used once. My response was that was because they suck @ss compared to TCH. I don’t think they appreciated that remark. Anyway, they told me that after I show that I need more than $2500 (which I do, even at today’s prices) and show that I make on-time payments, they will reconsider increasing my limit.

 

Tires are pretty much always best purchased at a local shop. I’ve been running Yokohama 16 ply Y023 all position tires for the last year and have a local shop that sells them for $311 out the door and then gives a minimum $50 casing credit. My tire costs are now under a penny a mile. I’m sure someone will post that they are getting tires for free somewhere, but I’m pretty happy paying $.008 per mile for tires.

OOIDA has been one disappointment after another over the years. Their insurance was extremely expensive, and when our truck was stolen, they screwed us out of the $9k they should’ve paid for the APU and then low-balled the estimated value of our truck by at least $10k. We had just had an inframe done with a new head and injectors and they generously added an extra $1k to the value of the truck. I’ve slowly cut ties with them and am considering terminating my membership altogether when it come up for renewal.

I am with you on not wasting money on memberships that do little or nothing, but when I get my dues back 25x a year in cost savings, I have to say it’s worth it. Perhaps for those who could not benefit from a 14% Sprint PCS discount or who purchase very little fuel it might not be worth the cost of membership, but last year we purchased 29,212 gallons. Even a savings of a penny a gallon would more than cover the cost of membership. Actually, since I spent $351 in fuel card fees alone last year(TCH charges $1.80 per use) just having a card that has no transaction fee will pay for one and a half annual memberships a year.

 

Some of the big brokers have their own fuel cards which can give one decent fuel discounts. Landstar and CH Robinson are a couple who come to mind. There are others, such as Schneider who also have their own fuel programs. If you haul mostly for those brokerages then it might pay you to use their card. The down side to any of them is that you cannot load the card yourself. The issuer is the only one who can load it. For instance, if you haul a CH Robinson load then they are the only one who can load it. They will ONLY load it when you haul one of their loads. Some of these cards also have discounts on tires and parts available. Each company has a slightly different program.

 

I see they have a loadboard as well. Have you tried it yet?
How about the best broker program? Any experience there?

 

The load board sounds like a good deal, from what I know about it. For what we do right now, we really can't make use of it, but I do know that all brokers have to pass NASTC's standards for credit worthiness, etc. to be allowed to post on it. I also believe that one substantiated complaint from an NASTC member and the broker is supposed to be banned.

I've never factored either, but NASTC offers programs where factoring may be as low as one percent or so (I think). I've been toying with the idea of adding drivers and factoring bills to make it easier to meet payroll and fuel, but I'm still uncommitted at his point. Jumping out there and adding a few more drivers with an uncertain economy is a bit scary to me.

I know I may sound like a bit of a shill for these folks, but it’s rare that I talk to anybody in our business who really impresses me. Hunter Owen, the NASTC guy I spoke with for about two hours on the phone did just that, and so has everybody I’ve dealt with there so far.

 

Do they charge extra for the load board or is that included?

 

Like I said, I don't use it right now, so I'm no expert on the load board, but I think... and I stress "think"... there's a fee with a free trial.

 

For those of you that are factoring, I don't think that you can beat Apex.
Apex Capital - Freight Bill Factoring, Trucking Factoring, Factoring Invoices

For the month of May I purchased 5833 gallons. My discount was $1765. Average of $0.30/gal off cash price. Mostly at TA's, which is not always the cheapest, I averaged $2.72/gal for the month. I did fill up in SC last night at $2.52/gal. There is a $1.50 transaction fee.

You have to be an "active" factoring customer. If you sign up and do not factor with them, you can still use the fuel card. Just no discount

Great company, great customer service. Zero B.S.

-scott

 

So you have to use the factor service (pay several percent of your load) to get the discount and there is a fee on top of that? Do you know what BOTH today's and tomorrow's prices will be like I do? And if you’re comparing the price at the pump of a TA to the discount price, I'd think you should be averaging at least 30 cpg... sometimes as much as 45 cpg (or even more in some cases) off pump price. TA inflates the pump price like crazy. Right now the price at the TA in Mobile, Al is $2.939 and my price is $2.619. TA in Seattle pump price is $3.359, my price is $2.902. Some places the cost differential is less. In places where competition is stiffer for the truck stops, their pump prices will be lower than in areas where there is little competition. Also, it fluctuates based on where we are in the diesel price curve. Truck stops often make less and less profit as prices rise, so my "cost plus 4 cents" discount won’t amount to much. Once the wholesale prices start to fall, the truck stops artificially keep pump prices high to make up for the loss in profit they had when the prices were rising and that is when a wholesale cost based discount program really pays off.

 

Musciman,

I stated this was a good option for someone that is factoring or considering it. I decided to factor last year after I had been running 3 trucks and had over $45k in A/R. As far as the transaction fee, I can live with a $1.50 fee on a $500-$600 fill up.

You are correct, TA does have some of the highest prices out there (as I stated).

Today the Apex price at the TA in Mobile is $2.579/gal and in Seattle it is $2.839/gal. The pump prices are the same as you found.

I use their website, which allows you to enter a start and end point and it will list the best prices along the route. It does not show pre-tax cost, so you have to keep up with the different fuel taxes from state to state to determine the true fuel cost.

I have looked at the NASTC program in the past, it appears to be a good program. I may not factor forever, so I have a few questions. Have you had any Fleet One card problems like others have mentioned? What methods do they accept for payment? Will they allow you to "overpay" your account if they set you up with a low limit?

Thanks and travel safe!

-scott