Peterson Trucks Awarded International Dealership; Completes First Sale

Peterson Trucks has been awarded the Bay Area/North Coast International Trucks territory!  We completed our first truck sale to Gary Ghilotti, owner/operator of Maggiora and Ghilotti Inc., on June 14, 2011.

John Krummen, Vice President of Peterson Tucks, announced the aquisition on June 14.  "Our goal is to build mutually-beneficial partnerships with current and potential customers in our territory," Krummen said.  "Our customers are our first priority.  We will go to whatever lengths are necessary to help them operate their International trucks profitability as we expand our business."

Krummen stressed the availability of parts and service for International owners:  "We are currently offering sales, parts, and service for International trucks from two Peterson locations--San Leandro and Santa Rosa--and will open our Fortuna and San Martin stores as International dealerships in the near future to make our services as convenient for our customers as possible."

We completed our first International truck sale shortly after opening our doors as a dealer: longtime Peterson customer Gary Ghilotti bought an International truck from Peterson Trucks on June 14.  According to Ghilotti, his Peterson Trucks salesman, Joe Rossi, helped him choose the right truck for his business: "The price was right and the salesman was more than qualified," Ghilotti said.  "Joe found the product I was looking for; very simple.  Now I can get to the project on time, and make deliveries a lot quicker, cheaper, and better."

Can an Off the Lot Truck Harm Your Business?

Many fleet owners are tempted to forgo the extra time and effort that is required to customize their new vehicle purchases. While buying a truck off the lot may seem simple (and can sometimes save a few dollars during the initial purchase), owners that choose this option can raise their operational costs, sometimes dramatically.

For example, a fleet owner that buys a truck geared for highway driving but runs an operation based on city deliveries will end up spending more on fuel than what is necessary. Likewise, an engine that is not designed to accommodate the specific load size of an operation can consume excess fuel and decrease engine longevity.

There are a variety of options that modern truck manufacturers offer at little or no cost that can reduce the operational costs of a fleet. By customizing their fleets, owners can ensure that their vehicles are tailored to the needs of their business without increasing operating costs unnecessarily.

To read more about the options that can save you money, read George Sharpe’s white paper, “Lowering Costs by Customizing New Commercial Vehicle Purchases,” at http://www.petersontrucks.com/papers/customizing_new_commercial_vehicles.

Driving Fuel Economy

With the average cost of a gallon of diesel at $4.22 in California (an increase of $1.15 per gallon over last year’s prices according to the US Energy Information Administration), fuel prices are increasingly becoming a major factor in operating costs for commercial vehicle fleets. While many fleet owners and managers are now recognizing the benefits of the various options offered by truck manufacturers designed to improve fuel efficiency, some are overlooking the fact that many of these options are negated by the habits of drivers. For example, aerodynamic features designed to reduce wind resistance also allow drivers to travel at faster speeds, which can counter any fuel savings the features were designed to promote.

If fleet managers are to use the technological advances that can improve fuel economy successfully, they must also consider creative approaches to driver training, implement driver reward programs, and make drivers an important part of the business. If trucking companies can reach their drivers in a meaningful and impactful way, saving fuel can become a company-wide goal, and not just a fleet owner and manager goal.

Tom Bagwell, CTP of Peterson Trucks explores this idea in detail in his white paper “Driving Fuel Economy.” Visit http://www.petersontrucks.com/papers/driving_fuel_economy to read more.

Pre and Post Trip Inspections Can Help Lower Operating Costs

While CSA regulations can seem rigorous, conforming to them can actually help you to lower your fleet’s operational costs. Following guidelines on pre and post trip inspections, for example, can save your operation time and money. Consider this example:

A trucking company based in San Jose recently received an out of service violation for a headlamp that had burned out. The fleet manager who received the call spent an hour looking for a mechanic who was willing to perform an immediate road call. At $75 an hour, the mechanic took three hours to locate a replacement part, drive it to the truck’s location and install it. He also charged the company a $50 mobile service fee. So the company paid $275 for a $6 headlamp (and that cost doesn’t include downtime and the fleet manager’s time).

If the broken headlamp had been noticed during a pre trip inspection, the company would have saved $269 and four hours of time. This is a perfect example of how pre and post trip inspections can minimize downtime and save money.

To read Paul Backers’s (CTP) white paper, “Conforming to CSA Regulations While Reducing Operating Costs with Pre and Post Trip Inspections,” visit http://www.petersontrucks.com/papers/pre_trip_inspections.