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xecutives at companies that specialize in fuel-management software and optimization tools for the trucking industry said surging fuel prices have created increased demand for their products.

The retail price of diesel fuel last week was a record $2.898 a gallon, while the price of regular gasoline was $3.069 a gallon, also a record, the Department of Energy reported (see story, p. 1).

“Trucking companies, especially smaller ones, are realizing they need a way to integrate fuel management with cargo tracking if they want to be competitive,” Bob Maddocks, president of Maddocks Systems Inc., Langley, British Columbia, told Transport Topics.