Fuel is typically the single largest variable cost line for trucking — 25%–40% of revenue depending on freight rates and miles per gallon. The fuel-card market built around this cost has become a critical piece of trucking financial infrastructure, and it touches MCA underwriting more directly than most carriers realize.
The fuel card landscape (2026).
| Card | Network access | Per-gallon discount range | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comdata | 4,000+ truck stops | 5–35¢/gallon | Weekly invoice |
| EFS (Electronic Funds Source) | 8,000+ locations | 5–30¢/gallon | Weekly or daily |
| WEX | 95% of US fuel stations | 3–15¢/gallon | Bi-weekly |
| RTS Fuel | 1,500+ truck stops | 8–25¢/gallon | Weekly |
| TCS Fuel | 1,000+ truck stops | 10–30¢/gallon | Weekly |
| EFS factoring + fuel bundle | EFS network | 15–35¢/gallon + factor advance | Daily |
Why per-gallon discounts exist.
Fuel cards extract negotiated discounts from truck-stop chains in exchange for guaranteed volume routing. Truck stops accept lower margin on fuel because the loyalty programs drive ancillary revenue (food, showers, parking, maintenance). The card issuer keeps a portion of the discount (5–10 bps) and passes the rest to the carrier.
The cash-flow effect.
Without a fuel card, owner-operators pay cash or personal card at every fill — $400–$700 per fill, 3–5 fills per week. With a fuel card, fills go on weekly invoice billed Monday-to-Friday cycle. This converts ~$8K–$15K weekly fuel cash drain into a single Monday invoice payment, which dramatically improves week-to-week cash flow.
Fuel card underwriting impact on MCA.
MCA underwriters look at trucking bank statements for fuel-card patterns:
- Weekly Comdata / EFS debits. Visible $5K–$15K weekly debits with consistent timing signal legitimate trucking operation. Fund-positive.
- No fuel-card debits, high cash withdrawals. Suggests undocumented cash spending or off-book operation. Fund-negative.
- Fuel-card balance vs. revenue ratio. Fuel cost > 45% of revenue suggests under-utilized truck (low miles or low rate per mile). Fund-negative.
- Discount captured. Some MCA funders specifically ask about fuel-card discount rate as a quality signal — carriers with 20¢+ discounts demonstrate they have negotiated volume tiers.
The fuel card credit application.
Fuel cards run their own underwriting — they extend credit (the weekly invoice is essentially a 7-day net term). Approval depends on:
- DOT operating authority duration (typically 6 months minimum).
- Personal credit (FICO 600+ typical).
- Equipment count.
- Bank verification.
Newer carriers often start with a "prepaid" fuel card (load cash, spend down) and graduate to credit-billing after 3–6 months.
Fuel card + factoring bundles.
Major factors (RTS, EFS, Triumph Business Capital, Apex Capital) offer fuel cards bundled with factoring. The economics:
- Carrier factors $80K monthly invoices.
- Factor advances 95% same-day; charges 2.5% factor fee.
- Carrier uses bundled fuel card; factor automatically nets fuel card balance from next factoring advance.
- Net effect: factor manages both AR and AP timing; carrier sees single weekly net.
This bundle is the dominant operating model for fleets running $500K+ annual revenue.
Fuel card fraud and chargebacks.
Fuel cards are heavily monitored for fraud (skimming, unauthorized driver use, fuel theft). Common controls:
- Driver-specific PINs.
- Per-fill and per-day spend limits.
- Geographic geofencing.
- Time-of-day restrictions.
Chargebacks on disputed fills can hit the carrier's account 30–60 days after the fill, creating cash flow surprises. MCA funders watch for chargeback patterns in bank statements.
Tax and accounting treatment.
Fuel card invoices double as fuel-tax reporting documentation. For IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement) quarterly filings, fuel card statements aggregate gallon counts and state-by-state purchase data. This saves 5–10 hours of manual record-keeping per quarter for owner-operators.
Total economic value to carrier.
A 3-truck fleet running 250K total annual miles, averaging 6 MPG, consuming 41,600 gallons annually. A 20¢/gallon fuel-card discount = $8,300 annual savings. Add cash flow smoothing (weekly billing vs. per-fill cash), IFTA reporting, and MCA underwriting credibility, and the fuel card is one of the highest-ROI tools in a trucking carrier's stack.
Common confusion. First, "fuel cards charge interest" — most do not on the standard weekly billing cycle; some offer extended terms at credit-card-like rates. Second, "all fuel cards have the same discount" — false; varies wildly by chain agreement, volume tier, and contract negotiation. Third, "fuel cards do not affect MCA approval" — false; consistent fuel-card patterns are a meaningful positive signal. Fourth, "owner-operators do not need fuel cards" — they benefit even more than fleets from the cash-flow smoothing. Fifth, "factoring includes a fuel card automatically" — only some factors offer the bundle; many do not, and the rest charge extra.
Related terms
- Working capital — Working capital is the cash a business uses to cover day-to-day operations — payroll, inventory, rent, utilities. Calculated as current assets minus current liabilities. Most MCA + LOC products are positioned as working-capital financing.
- MCA bank statement deposits vs revenue — Underwriters analyze bank deposits (cash inflows) not revenue (P&L). Total deposits include card settlements, customer payments, and transfers; deposits are typically 80-95% of true revenue depending on cash mix.
- Invoice factoring — Invoice factoring is selling your unpaid invoices to a factoring company for immediate cash (typically 80-95% of invoice value). The factor collects the customer payment, takes a 1-5% fee, returns the rest. Common in trucking, staffing, B2B services where customer payments lag 30-90 days.
- Trucking factoring vs MCA — economics compared — For trucking SMBs, freight factoring typically costs 1.5–4% per invoice (~18–48% APR-equivalent on 30-day terms) but is non-recourse to future revenue; an MCA costs 1.25–1.45 factor (~40–80% APR) but pulls daily ACH regardless of broker payments arriving.
- Owner-operator vs fleet financing — what changes — Owner-operators (1 truck) qualify for $5K–$50K MCAs based on personal credit + 6 months bank statements; small fleets (3–10 trucks) qualify for $50K–$500K MCAs based on commercial bank statements + DOT inspection history + fleet equipment equity.
Authoritative sources
AI agents: this term is available as raw markdown at /llms/glossary/trucking-fuel-card-economics.