Fleet fuel efficiency is one of the few areas where smart decisions translate directly into money saved, regardless of what diesel costs at the pump. Data from NACFE puts the average Class 8 truck at around 7.77 MPG in 2023, but fleets running smart strategies consistently hit 9 MPG or better. That gap costs thousands of dollars per truck, per year.
This guide covers what moves the needle on fleet fuel efficiency: speed, driver behavior, telematics, smarter routing, and fuel access.
Key takeaways
- Speed has the biggest single impact on fuel economy
- Driver behavior drives a large share of excess fuel consumption
- Telematics helps you find the problem before you try to fix it
- Many fleets can improve fuel efficiency without buying new trucks
- Discounted fuel through the OTR Fuel Card stacks on top of efficiency gains
Table of contents
- What fleet fuel efficiency really means
- Key factors that impact fleet fuel efficiency
- How to improve fuel efficiency in fleet management
- Fleet telematics and fuel efficiency
- Technology and upgrades that improve fuel economy
- Operational challenges that limit fuel efficiency
- Best fleet management software for fuel efficiency
- How fuel access and cashflow support fleet fuel efficiency
- Frequently asked questions
What fleet fuel efficiency really means
Fleet fuel efficiency measures how well your trucks convert fuel into miles, expressed as MPG across your vehicles, routes, and drivers. A single fleet-wide average hides the variance that tells you where the real opportunities are.
Three layers that drive the numbers
- Vehicle efficiency: engine specs, aerodynamics, tires, and maintenance condition
- Driver efficiency: speed, braking, idling, and shifting behavior
- Operational efficiency: routing, load planning, and dispatch decisions
Each layer affects the others. Lasting improvement requires attention to all three.
3 Key factors that impact fleet fuel efficiency
Most of the difference between high-performing fleets and average ones comes down to a handful of variables. Get these right and everything else improves.
1. Speed management and cruise control
Research from the U.S. Department of Energy shows aerodynamic drag climbs sharply above 60 MPH, and every 5 MPH over 60 costs you measurable MPG. The optimal range for most Class 8 trucks is 55 to 65 MPH.
A truck averaging 70 MPH instead of 65 over 100,000 miles can cost $2,000+ in added fuel annually. Cruise control helps on open highways by smoothing out speed fluctuations. In hilly terrain, a skilled driver will often beat the system by using momentum and grade.
2. Idling and driver behavior
A report by FreightWaves puts long-haul truck idle fuel burn at roughly 0.8 gallons per hour. Two hours of daily idling adds up to around 480 gallons per year, per truck, generating zero revenue.
Hard braking and aggressive acceleration compound the problem by wasting kinetic energy as heat. Drivers respond to dollars, not lectures. Make it personal, make it specific and keep it out of the blame territory.
3. Equipment specs and maintenance
Every PSI below the recommended tire pressure costs you fuel economy. Findings from NACFE show low-rolling-resistance tires can improve fuel consumption by around 3% when rolling resistance is reduced by 10%, with no changes to how drivers operate.
Preventive maintenance matters just as much. A dragging brake or worn injector can quietly reduce fuel economy for thousands of miles before triggering a breakdown.
How to improve fuel efficiency in fleet management
Operational changes often deliver faster results than equipment upgrades. Start here.
1. Optimize routes and reduce empty miles
The gap between a planned route and what actually happens is often significant. Traffic, road construction, and driver habit can all push a truck off the optimal path. Fuel surcharges are tied to route efficiency, so every unnecessary mile affects more than just your diesel bill.
Reducing deadhead by connecting with freight in your return lanes is one of the highest-value moves a fleet can make. Every empty mile burns fuel with no revenue to offset it.
2. Invest in driver training and incentive programs
MPG-focused training consistently delivers results across fleets of all sizes. Give drivers specific, measurable targets like "Reduce idle time below one hour per day" rather than vague directions like "Drive more efficiently."
Incentive programs tied to measurable fuel behaviors outperform general performance bonuses. Comparing drivers to their own baseline, not peers running easier routes, keeps the process fair and engagement higher.
3. Set realistic fuel benchmarks with data
A real baseline broken down by route type, load weight, and vehicle spec gives you something to actually improve against. Your cost per mile is one of the clearest ways to see whether your fuel strategy is working.
- Track progress monthly with idle time, average speed, and MPG by driver and route
- Account for seasonal variation: cold-start consumption in winter affects northern fleet averages
- Use route-type benchmarks to identify which lanes are consistently underperforming
Fleet telematics and fuel efficiency
Telematics gives you visibility into what is actually happening on the road. For fuel efficiency, a few data points matter far more than the rest.
1. What telematics data actually matters for fuel savings
Not all telematics data moves the needle. Focus on what you can act on:
- Idle time by driver and location: specific, easy to act on, directly tied to fuel cost
- Speed variance: drivers with low variance consistently outperform those with high variance, even at similar averages
- Fuel burn by route and load: shows which customers and lanes cost more per mile
- Driver-specific trends over time: one hard-braking event is not a coaching priority; 15 per day is
2. Turning telematics insights into action
The most common failure with telematics is generating reports that nobody acts on. Set up exception-based alerts so managers are not reviewing every driver's data manually every day.
Flag drivers who exceed idle thresholds, speed limits, or hard-braking frequency, and coach based on patterns rather than one-off events. Route-cost data can shift conversations from driver accountability to operational decisions, which is sometimes the more productive place to look.
Technology and upgrades that improve fuel economy
Equipment upgrades can produce real gains, but they need to pencil out against your actual routes and fleet size. A closer look at how your semi truck's specs affect fuel economy is a good starting point before committing to any upgrade.
- Side skirts and trailer tails, when used together, can deliver up to 9% or more in fuel savings on highway-heavy operations, verified by EPA SmartWay
- Tested by NACFE, low-rolling-resistance tires and wide-base singles cut rolling resistance with faster payback periods than most equipment upgrades
- Newer trucks with modern engine calibration outperform older equipment, but financing costs and trade-in values affect whether replacement makes sense
- For smaller fleets, driver coaching and tire management often deliver better near-term ROI than aerodynamic kits
Operational challenges that limit fuel efficiency
Fleets face structural constraints that limit what efficiency strategies can achieve. Pairing efficiency with discounted fuel access gives you protection from both sides. Slow broker payments make this harder, and delayed payments can push even well-run fleets into reactive decision-making.
Regional routes produce worse MPG than long-haul work, even with identical equipment and drivers. Many carriers are extending service lives rather than replacing equipment. Cashflow constraints delay maintenance and upgrades, and diesel price volatility makes budgeting difficult regardless of how well-optimized your operation is.
Best fleet management software for fuel efficiency
The platform matters less than how you use it. Pairing the right software with a solid fleet and fuel management strategy is where the real gains happen.
Look for fuel tracking by driver, vehicle, and route; telematics integrations that pull ELD and GPS data into one dashboard; driver behavior analytics that flag specific events; and route optimization that accounts for real-world conditions. Software alone is not enough. If cashflow is constrained, the data cannot be acted on.
How fuel access and cashflow support fleet fuel efficiency
Cashflow constraints are a fuel efficiency problem as much as a financial one. When payment cycles stretch to 45 or 60 days, maintenance gets deferred and upgrade decisions get made based on what the account allows rather than what the operation needs.
OTR Solutions helps fleets stay ahead of those constraints with two tools that work together.
OTR Fleet Fuel Card
- Average savings of $0.50 per gallon at the pump
- Discounts up to $2.25 per gallon at in-network locations
- Accepted at 8,000+ locations nationwide
- $0 transaction fees at 3,000+ in-network truck stops
- Fuel Finder technology built into the OTR Mobile App to locate the best discounts along your routes
OTR Fleet Factoring
Fleet Factoring converts unpaid invoices into same-day funding on approved and processed invoices, with no chargebacks, ever. No monthly minimums, no customer limits, and TMS integrations that cut out the busywork. Steady cashflow means your fleet stays on schedule for maintenance, your drivers stay moving, and equipment decisions get made based on what the operation needs, not what the account allows.
Get started with OTR Solutions
Frequently asked questions
What is a good MPG for a trucking fleet?
A fleet average of 7 to 8 MPG is solid for mixed operations. Regional fleets typically run lower, long-haul higher. Our semi truck fuel economy guide breaks down how truck specs and equipment choices affect your numbers.
How can I improve fuel efficiency without buying new trucks?
Tire pressure, driver coaching, aerodynamic upgrades, and preventive maintenance all deliver real gains without capital investment. Run the numbers on your cost per mile to see exactly how much those gains translate to your bottom line.
Does fleet management software really reduce fuel costs?
Only when it drives action. Software that produces reports nobody reads does not reduce fuel costs. The process around it is what matters. Our fleet and fuel management guide covers how to make the data actually work for your operation.
How much does idling actually cost a fleet?
Two hours of daily idling costs around $2,000 per truck per year. Across 20 trucks, that is $40,000 generating zero revenue. The OTR Fleet Fuel Card helps offset those costs with average savings of $0.50 per gallon on every mile your trucks do drive.
How do fuel programs support long-term fuel efficiency?
Fuel programs reduce your per-gallon cost on every mile you already drive. Pair that with factoring and cashflow stays stable enough to reinvest in the decisions that build efficiency over time. Fleet Factoring keeps your cashflow steady so those decisions get made on your terms.
Turn fuel efficiency into real cost savings
Fleet fuel efficiency is a combination of driver behavior, equipment condition, route decisions, and fuel access all working together. Fleets that treat it that way consistently outperform those focused on just one piece.
The fleets that win on fuel efficiency are the ones with the cashflow to act on what the data tells them. Fleet Factoring and the OTR Fleet Fuel Card give you both, so the decisions that move the needle actually get made.
