2016 Indiana Logistics Directory

CountryMark Flex Fuel Contracts Offer
a Better Way to Control Fuel Prices
By Jon Lantz
Vice President of Marketing
CountryMark
For 75 years, CountryMark and its branded
dealers have been refining and delivering
premium quality fuels to farms, fleets and
families throughout the Midwest. But today’s
trucking companies require more than just
premium quality fuels. They also need price
risk management tools to help them better
manage unpredictable fuel costs.
At CountryMark, we offer flex fuel
contracts, and our customers will tell you
these contracts are one of the most effective
price risk management tools available on the
market today. Our flex contracts are unique
in that customers pick the amount of fuel
they wish to contract, the period of time for
the contract and the delivery schedule. Let
me explain each of these components in
greater detail.
Selecting fuel quantity for a flex fuel
contract is a huge benefit, especially for
smaller trucking fleets. Most oil companies
require contract volumes in 42,000 gallon
increments. We don’t have the requirement.
Trucking companies can sit down with their
CountryMark branded dealer and select a
volume that works for them—maybe that’s a
tankwagon or transport load, or maybe it is a
percentage of the fuel the buyer anticipates
needing over a certain period of time.
At CountryMark, we also allow
customers to execute flex contracts on
a timetable that works for them. Many
customers prefer to sit down with their local
CountryMark branded dealer to discuss
a fuel price range they are comfortable
with. The local CountryMark dealer will
then contact the trucking company when
contracting prices fall within the buyer’s
preferred fuel price range. At that point, the
trucking company can choose to enter a flex
contract for a given quantity of fuel at the
agreed upon flex contract price for a specific
period of time. Common contracting periods
for CountryMark customers include two, six,
nine and 11 months.
Having control over when the contracted
gallons are used is another advantage of the
CountryMark flex contracting program. Each
time the trucking company orders fuel, it has
the option to buy its fuel at either the cash
price or a contracted price.
It is important to note there is no cost
to customers for CountryMark’s contracting
services, nor do customers pay for fuel until
they take possession of the fuel. Using a flex
fuel contract, customers can also choose to
either have their fuel delivered to on-site
storage tanks or pick up the fuel from a
CountryMark branded retail fueling site.
For many CountryMark fuel customers,
flex fuel contracts allow them to better
control their fuel budgets. In many cases, it
takes fuel from a variable cost to a fixed cost.
And for trucking companies that bid on jobs,
locking in fuel prices can provide a significant
advantage over trucking companies that are
purchasing fuel solely on the cash markets.
Fuel price volatility is one of the
most significant challenges for trucking
companies. CountryMark flex fuel contracts
reduce fuel price volatility and help trucking
companies of all sizes more effectively
control and manage their fuel input costs.
CountryMark Flex Fuel Contracting
You pick the fuel amount.
You pick the
delivery
schedule.
You pay no
contracting
fees.
You pick the
contract period.
You don’t pay
for fuel until you
receive it.
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