As a calculator will easily tell you, when diesel costs $4, gaining just one mile per gallon in fuel economy (5 mpg to 6) will save you $16,000 each year, assuming a 120,000 mile per year driving schedule.
“And it’s income that basically goes straight into your pocket,” said Mike Bethea, director of independent contractors at Schneider National, for a piece in the May issue of Overdrive. “For the average owner-operator, that’s two months worth of work.”
As that article notes, there are quite a few strategies o-o’s can use to pick up their fuel economy and help keep their billfolds a little fatter. But take a look at the chart below and notice that the bulk of savings comes from making small improvements at the lower end of the scale.
Though averaging 8 mpg would be great, you don’t need to reach that point to make improvements worth the effort—there’s plenty to be gained by doing what you can to get 6 or 6.5 mpg.
| MPG | Gallons per year | Cost per year | Gallons saved* | Savings per year* |
| 5 | 24,000 | $96,000 | —— | —— |
| 6 | 20,000 | $80,000 | 4,000 | $16,000 |
| 6.5 | 18,460 | $73,840 | 5,540 | $22,160 |
| 7 | 17,140 | $68,560 | 6,860 | $27,440 |
| 7.5 | 16,000 | $64,000 | 8,000 | $32,000 |
| 8 | 15,000 | $60,000 | 9,000 | $36,000 |
*Compared to 5 mpg
