Our fuel discount program, designed exclusively for Apex clients, is recognized as one of the best programs in the industry. The Apex Fuel Card is accepted at over 5,100 locations nationwide and many locations in Canada. Significant discounts are available at all major chains including TA, Petro, Wilco Hess, Pilot, Ambest and Roady’s truck stops and several thousand independent locations. In continued efforts to improve the program we are adding 16 Sapp Brothers locations.

Take Control of Trucking Costs

• Lowest cash price for fuel and other products
• Among the lowest transaction fees in the industry
• Fuel discounts and rebates significantly lower fuel cost
• Manage fuel costs by monitoring each truck’s activity
• Set daily purchase limits
• Quickly fund your fuel card from schedules or available reserve

The Apex Fuel Program

• In 2011 Apex Fuel Program users saved, on average, 20 cents per gallon- among the best fuel discounts in the industry
• Available at all major chains, over 5,100 truck stop locations nationwide and in Canada
• 24/7 access to customer service, the EFS website, account administration and reporting
• Funds transferred to cards within an hour
• Daily reports detailing activity on each fuel card
• Tailor to your needs – you determine availability of daily cash, oil, additives, repairs, tires, scales, etc. per driver or truck
• Adjust card’s parameters at any time whether as an override or on a permanent basis

Our clients save big money by utilizing The Apex Fuel Program. We develop and maintain online tools to efficiently manage fuel spending and find the most up to date discounts and locations on your route online, 24/7. We have professionals on staff to assist with account management and fuel savings. The Apex Fuel Program will save you money, guaranteed.

The newly revised regulations, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013, aim to aid truckers by helping to ensure they receive the proper amount of rest required to operate their vehicles safely and efficiently on the road. Officials with the FMCSA, an office under the control of the U.S. Department of Transportation, stated they relied on scientific research on driver fatigue in developing the rule.

The current daily driving limit of 11 hours for commercial truck drivers will remain intact under the new rule. Officials with the FMCSA have announced that they will continue to do research and analyze data linked to the 11-hour driving limit and any risks involved with that amount of time on the road.

Under the newly adopted hours-of-service regulations, a commercial truck driver’s seven-day work week will be limited to a maximum of 70 hours. The old regulations permitted truck drivers to work as many as 82 hours during a seven-day work week.

Another provision of the new rule states that truck drivers are allowed to work no longer than eight hours unless they first take a rest period of no less than 30 minutes. Drivers are permitted to have that half-hour break at any time during that eight-hour span.

A significant part of the new rule allows commercial truck drivers to take advantage of the so-called “34-hour restart provision.” This provision permits drivers to restart the count on their official work week by going off duty for at least 34 hours in a row. Drivers may utilize the 34-hour restart provision a maximum of one time in any seven-day stretch. The new rule also mandates that drivers who are “maxing out” the number of their hours on duty must have at least two nights worth of rest from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. This part of the rule aims to help drivers regulate their 24-hour body cycle.

Trucking firms that disregard the new rule could face fines of as much as $11,000. Individual drivers who break the rule could face a fine of $2,750 per offense.

Administrators with the FMCSA believe the new regulations will make the roads safer by helping commercial truck drivers remain rested, focused and alert.

As the freight to available driver ratio increases, freight companies are becoming worried. The situation is so bad that many long-haul trucking companies are already losing business to air and rail alternatives. Several approaches to this problem are being implemented. One of the possibilities is to allow drivers between 18 and 20 years of age to become long-haul truckers. Currently, a driver must be 21 to get a commercial trucking license. The problem is that most young people who don’t choose to attend college have already received some other type of vocational training before they’re old enough to become a truck driver. If younger people are allowed to attend truck driving schools, they will have to take extra training before they can receive their CDL.

Another solution is to train drivers in Puerto Rico. Unemployment is at 13 percent in this United States territory, and there are many young people who are enthusiastic about becoming truck drivers. For a yearly salary of $26,000, these drivers work three weeks in a row. After that, they’re given airplane tickets to fly home for a week. They don’t earn as much as U.S. drivers, but they only work three weeks out of the month. Two years after a truck driving school was established in Mayaguez, 5,000 commercial drivers had been trained.

A few truck driving schools are offering scholarships in hopes of filling the increasing void of over-the-road drivers. MTA Training Centers of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 1-800-Drivers of Houston, Texas, are giving one week per quarter to people who submit a 100-word essay on why they want to become a truck driver.

These tactics will hopefully replenish the ranks of long-haul truckers. The shortage will only get worse as many drivers are over 55, and most retire when they turn 65.

When shopping for a factor, beware of the fine print. Don’t get locked into long term or minimum volume contracts. At Apex, we don’t have minimums because we know your volume can fluctuate. If your contract requires a minimum volume, it could cost you an extra 20% on top of your factor fee. The initial low fee isn’t low enough to recover from the minimum monthly volume requirement if you have a truck in the shop.

Avoid advances or quick pays since they cut into your earnings. Consider factoring your invoices and participating in a fuel discount program instead. Apex’s Fuel Program offers deep discounts on fuel every day and enables carriers to easily locate the best net daily fuel price on each driver’s route, manage cards and set purchase limits.

Maximize your efforts by choosing loads that pay more, not faster. Apex regularly reviews multiple credit resources to provide the most accurate information available enabling carriers to make more informed business decisions. Did you know it can take up to 12 loads to recover the cost of one load that didn’t pay? Checking credit before you haul a load will minimize your risk.

Build relationships with well-paying brokers and secure direct lanes with shippers to gain industry knowledge and dependable income. Established factoring companies have established reputations…understand a factors collection style and reputation by asking your customers about their experiences.

Simplify your day by streamlining paperwork and accounting. Apex is completely transparent and stores all invoices, payment documentation, reports and forms requested on a regular basis online for easy access and distribution. We are accountable for every dollar related to your account.

All factors considered, ponder this…The Apex Difference— Apex is America’s Favorite Factor, handling every aspect of business with honesty, integrity and professionalism. We’ve spent 16 years uniting truckers as a community of knowledgeable, profitable entrepreneurs by providing the tools, resources and people to create the difference between survival and ultimate growth. Our product is different. Our culture is different. That’s the Apex Difference.