NASTC Membership - What's The Story?

I have a friend in Florida runs small grsin fleet and he is a member for fuel, tire, maintenance group pricing.

In case you want to look at them.
http://www.nastc.com/

The new entrant seminar I would say is for people either just getting authority or those planning on expanding their company to two or more trucks. They do push some products during that like software.

I'll refrain my opinion of Grain Valley.

 

First, the $250 for the seminar is only if you don't want to join. The membership to join (per year) is $250 and your first year is free by attending the seminar (which is mandatory to join). I joined for the fuel discount. Really no other reason than that. Right now I'm getting between 30 and 50 cents per gallon off the pump price. More than paid for the $250 membership. Haven't dealt with tires yet or needed the TA road service yet (although the rates for that are pretty cut and dry through them).

I'm just a one-truck outfit, so a lot of the stuff NASTC sells and champions for isn't for me, but they are another voice in favor of the little guy. This from the small company perspective than the independent owner/driver perspective.

 

We're supposed to be getting NASTC fuel cards some time in the future for those big fuel discounts Sly and others have talked about. It's very much worth the fee to get signed up. The 6 cents off cash price (at Pilots) that we're getting now through England sucks.

 

To join, you have to take the seminar. The seminar is listed as "$250", but then the first year of membership is free once you complete the seminar. It has a lot of good info, I feel, for startup multi-truck operations. Some stuff I knew, some I figured out and it was reaffirmed. If you really know what you're doing, you probably aren't going to be surprised. NASTC is more than just an association, they are a business operating on the basis of giving small companies the same advantages the big companies have. Dispatch/planning program (MYSTC), drug testing program (about equal priced to OOIDA's), driver training/safety program (monthly safety seminar for drivers under your authority, plus MVR screening, etc).

For a solo O/O, it's just a lot of stuff I have no need for. Which, David Owens made no bones about in the seminar. In and of itself, was the seminar worth it? No. But, to become a member of NASTC? Definitely.

Their fuel discount program is probably the best in the industry for independents. No need to sign up with a big carrier and haul their loads to get their fuel discounts. Or, worse, take a fuel card that gives just a few pennies per gallon off.

For instance, the CASH pump price at the truck stop in Indiana I just fueled at was $3.499/g. I'm going to pay $3.16/g. My discount has been averaging about $0.35/g for the past month. That alone has made the $250, plus taking a trip to Louisville (when the seminar was being held at MATS) well worth it. And the seminar is a one time thing. Once you're a member, you're a member. The fuel card is through FleetOne, of which NASTC is their biggest customer. The card carries with it a $3.50/mo fee, and there's a setup fee (I believe $75 if you don't already have a FleetOne card, I got one through OOIDA already with a $25 setup fee that they just converted into a NASTC QPN card for free, so that actually saved me money). No more 'pre-paying' for the diesel, either. My card has a $2500 limit and bills me weekly at the end of the week for the past seven days. I usually get my money from my loads long before then. If you're going to run near your limit, you can always make partial smaller payments during the week to the card to avoid going over your limit. But, I always am in the $1700~ range for fuel including a reefer.

Their network is mostly TA/Petro, Sapp Bros, and AMBEST locations. The greatest thing about their network is you know the day before what you'll pay at almost every stop in the network. Most are "cost+4" discounts, but they're pegged the day before. So, you go only through the NASTEK (their company that started the MYSTC software), and see the printout of the price you'll pay for fuel at any stop. You can also see today's price and check yesterdays. This gives you the great ability to see regional trends, sometimes just within a state. They also list the "IFTA Price", so you can make quick comparisons by state. Right now, for instance, northeast Ohio is brutally expensive. While eastern Indiana is a great deal. Central PA isn't bad, but the Sapp Bros in Clearfield beats the best TA/Petro on I-80/I-81/I-84 by about $0.08/g.

And, it's just nice to know the price you'll pay. Most of the time I don't even look at the pump price until I look at my receipt. No need to. The card gets charged the NASTC price. No rebates or chargebacks. it's just a straight rate charged per gallon the day it's processed.

I have yet to use the tire discount. David Owen wasn't too thrilled with it and said you'd still probably find a better deal with a local shop that you do regular business with. However, if you're out on the road and need a tier, it's decent. A brand new tire, for instance, will give you $150 off the best negotiated price at TA/Petro. A retread will give you a smaller discount per tire (like $15 or so). Like I said, I haven't done it yet, so not even sure the steps needed to get the discount/rebate on tires. I will call them when I need to.

They do offer TA/Petro road service as well. No call out fee, and night/weekend/holiday is charged at regular price. But, again, I've yet to need that *knock on wood*

All in all, in the four months I've been a member of NASTC, I've more than saved money on the $250 membership and the lost day going to Louisville for the seminar. It's been well worth it.

 

Thanks for all the great info!

 

No we can't.

 

Cards are in the office being mailed this week. But just look at the higher price as a tax deduction. You need all you can get