Staggering price increases afoot
Diesel has never been more expensive in South Africa. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced staggering price increases for diesel – of between R1.52/l and R1.69/l/. The price cap for diesel is now set at R21.01/l in Gauteng and R20.39 at the coast.
According to the Automobile Association (AA), the only driver behind these increases is the rising oil price. “The recent strong run of the Rand against the US dollar contributed to shaving some of this increase off the final adjustment for April, without which the increases would have been more significant,” a spokesman says.
Had it not been for the R1.50 reduction on the General Fuel Levy announced by the Minister of Finance, prices would have been even higher. “These are record fuel prices across the board and while government’s intervention has cushioned the blow somewhat, it hasn’t entirely taken the pain away. The current high prices cannot be sustained by a consumer base already reeling from increased rates to, among others, electricity costs, food prices, and public transport fares,” says the AA.
Transport operators cannot afford these high prices either. But thankfully, there are several things companies can do to lower their fuel bills.
Here are five:
1. Get a maintenance or service contract
A technical understanding of vehicles is a critical requirement for managing fuel economy across the fleet reliably and repeatably. As Elvis Mutseura, Product Marketing Manager at Iveco South Africa, notes, all profitable road freight operators already have the expertise to manage fuel consumption even better. “However, in many operations, it is necessary to free the technical director of the burden of maintenance management so that these professionals can dedicate their expertise to driving down the single biggest cost driver,” he points out.
How? “Maintenance contracts and service level agreements with truck and trailer OEMs and dealers who, by the way, are better equipped to perform the maintenance tasks in the first place,” he suggests.
2. Invest in driver training
A truck driver can have as much as a 30% impact on fuel consumption. Proper driver training is therefore essential. You’ll slash your fuel bill, and your truck will get a new lease on life – because it’s being driven correctly.
3. Pick the right truck
Dave van Graan, Head of MAN Automotive’s Training Academy, says that it’s vitally important to pick the right truck for the job at hand. “At MAN Automotive we have always believed that the process of selecting the right vehicle for the transport job at hand is an entry-level fundamental of our transport consultancy journey. Knowing the exact details of the load to be transported, the configuration of the trailers, loading and of-loading points and associated processes, the topography of the route, turn-around time factors and operating hours are all very important up-front considerations.
“Whilst doing the professional vehicle selection process, it is vital to cross-check the number of kilowatts which are required to overcome rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag. As many transport engineers know, the power required to overcome aerodynamic drag increases at the cube of speed. Selecting a base vehicle which offers the least demand on the engine to use diesel to overcome these forces is very important,” he stresses.
4. Make aerodynamic enhancements
Van Graan goes on to say that selecting additional aerodynamic enhancements to the vehicle – such as fit-for-purpose aerodynamic packages – is another important step. Cameron Dudley-Owen, managing director of Aero Truck, concurs. “At today’s high fuel prices, a truck operator will spend considerably more on fuel than on the money spent purchasing the truck itself. In fact, a transport operator will spend over R5 million on fuel over the life of the vehicle (500 000 km) at current prices. Some 50% of the fuel used by a truck is to overcome aerodynamic drag when travelling at highway speeds and 14% of the truck’s fuel use can be offset by fitting the correct aerodynamic devices,” he reveals.
5. Don’t forget those tyres!
Finally, don’t forget the tyres. There are two things to bear in mind: tyre selection and tyre pressure. When it comes to the former, invest in a fuel-efficient tyre. When it comes to the latter, ensure that the tyres are properly inflated. A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the USA revealed that under-inflation of a tyre by 10% increases fuel consumption by 2%.
At today’s fuel prices, that is something no transport operator can afford.
