CALGARY (March 15, 2000) — Truckers may be captive to high diesel prices, but they can find savings by making smarter decisions about where and how to buy their fuel, according to Calgary-based fleet management consultant and Today’s Trucking contributing writer Sandy Johnson.

Johnson and her partner Bill Taylor, who together operate Total Trucking Management, will hold two seminars this month in conjunction with the Alberta Trucking Association aimed at helping owner-operators and trucks fleets wise up about the way they buy fuel.

“If the pump price of fuel is 46 cents in Saskatchewan and 44 cents in Alberta, where would you fill up your truck?” says Johnson. “If your decision is to buy in Alberta you have just spent 4 cents more per litre than you needed to. Because of the impact of the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA), the pump price (or retail price) is not always the best indicator of the ‘real’ price. Good advice in the past was to buy only as much fuel as you would consume in that province or state — today that advice can cost you money.”

The first seminar will be held March 29 in Edmonton at the Mayfield Inn from 9 a.m. until noon. Another will take place in Calgary March 31 at the Blackfoot Inn, also from 9 am until noon. The fee is $125 plus GST ($100 for members of the Alberta Trucking Association).

Johnson says the course will explain how IFTA works and why it is important to monitor not only retail prices but also after-tax price; provide the most recent average retail fuel prices and the comparable after-tax prices; examine the impact of taxes on the rising cost of fuel across the continent; review the various bulk purchasing systems that both large and small carriers can take advantage of; demonstrate the impact of the GST on fuel pricing; examine the impact of your driving practices on fuel consumption and on your profitability; and explain why you shouldnÕt buy in “Surcharge States.”

For information, call the ATA at 403/253-8401.