Food distributor UNFI is hedging its diesel exposure and using Samsara’s AI-powered platform to optimize routes across close to 50 distribution centers and 2,000 delivery vehicles, according to Supply Chain Dive. CEO Sandy Douglas said in September that hedging was “keeping our exposure in a reasonable place.”
A UNFI spokesperson said Samsara helps the company identify opportunities to optimize delivery routes and reduce unnecessary miles. The platform is one of several fleet technologies UNFI uses.
UNFI’s average miles driven per delivery ran nearly 5% below the prior year through May, the company said. On-time deliveries rose more than 4% over the same period. The company attributed these results to its broader technology investments, not Samsara alone.
Diesel prices have climbed amid the Iran war. US on-highway diesel averaged $6.18 a gallon in the week of Oct. 12, up $2.51 from a year earlier, according to the EIA. California averaged $8.09, up $3.15 year over year. California Trucking Association president Tim Pollock told Trucking Dive that fuel surcharges cover only about
Costco has largely offset incremental fuel surcharges through lower contracted shipping rates, CFO Gary Millerchip said on its fiscal fourth-quarter call. McCormick offset higher freight, logistics, packaging and input costs with savings from its Comprehensive Continuous Improvement program in its fiscal third quarter.
The International Energy Agency expects diesel markets to remain tight well into 2027.
