Tuesday, October 6, 2026. One lesson, one number, two things to know before the first truck rolls. Short on purpose.
The lesson: What are they really paying for?
Ask what your customer is actually buying from you.The homeowner is buying a warm house she never has to think about.The grain farmer is buying a dryer that runs the week the corn comes in.The diner is buying a griddle that lights at 5 a.m.We keep score in gallons. The customer keeps score in phone calls, one for every time she has to chase us to get what she paid for.So count the calls. Each one you remove is value you added without touching the price.One place to start: let them order without calling, through a Custom Fuel App.
Idea h/t Meet Kevin.
Number of the week: $6.51
That’s the national average price of a gallon of diesel, a record high, according to the National Propane Gas Association on Sept. 24. Every bobtail and transport you run burns it.
Yard take: Rerun your cost per delivery now, before the first cold snap does it for you.
[REGS] Washington’s energy-choice law is gone.
Washington voters passed Initiative 2066 with 52 percent in November 2024 to stop state and local governments from banning or restricting propane and natural gas. In September the Washington Supreme Court held it “unconstitutional in its entirety,” NPGA reports. Washington is the 20th-largest state propane market, with 180 million gallons sold, according to the 2024 sales report NPGA cites.
Yard take: A win at the ballot box can be undone in court. Keep your state association funded.
[REGS] Clean fuel bills are moving east.
California, Oregon and Washington have the three highest diesel prices in the continental U.S., according to AAA figures cited by NPGA. All three run a Clean Fuel Standard, which counts diesel as a deficit and pushes that cost into the pump price. NPGA says bills to create similar programs were introduced this session in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Yard take: Run trucks in any of those six states? Call your state association this week and ask where the bill sits.