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February 21, 2001 11:32 AM, EST

Competition between two companies offering fuel card services is so sharp that it has inspired lawsuits and drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, which stepped in to head off potentially anti-competitive actions.

The ongoing dispute between two of the industry’s major players — Comdata Corp. and Flying J Inc. — makes the Hatfields and McCoys seem like loving neighbors. As a result of the dispute, truckers find that their Comdata and Flying J fuel purchasing cards are mutually exclusive. One card cannot be used at the other’s facility.

Flying J, a truck-stop chain headquartered in Brigham City, Utah, has gone to court with allegations that the Brentwood, Tenn.-based Comdata is using its powerful position as supplier of the most widely used fuel card and its card-processing machine to restrict the market for Flying J’s own fuel card and processing system.

“As acrimonious litigation goes, this case is right up there with the best of them,” observed FTC spokesman Michael Moiseyev.

Comdata controls 60% of the fuel card market and owns the system, called Trendar, that processes card transactions at the majority of truck stops.

For the full story, see the Feb. 19 print edition of Transport Topics. .