The Fuelcard Company, has partnered with the Transport Exchange Group to help cut fuel costs for its 2,500 businesses.

Customers of Transport Exchange, the UK’s largest exchange ‘network’ which co-ordinates return delivery jobs for hauliers and couriers who would otherwise be travelling empty, will benefit from free fuel cards for their first year and preferential rates on fuel from December.

Through The Fuelcard Company, fleet companies using the Transport Exchange service will also have access to a comprehensive reporting system to help control their fuel spend.

This allows them to monitor the fuel usage of individual drivers as well as the entire fleet to help identify where savings can be made such as routing, or training drivers to adopt a more fuel efficient driving style.

Jakes de Kock, sales and marketing director at The Fuelcard Company, said the partnership aimed to alleviate some of the pressure on Transport Exchange customers caused by rising fuel prices and difficult trading conditions.

“Our alliance with the Transport Exchange Group was born out of desire by two like-minded, service providers to help hard pressed fleet businesses gain maximum savings and efficiencies on their travel," he said.

"In difficult economic times, businesses need to take every opportunity to make savings – whether that be utilising their empty vehicle space on return journeys through the Transport Exchange service, or using fuel cards to benefit from fuel discounts and keep a tighter hold of their fuel spend. Now, through this partnership, businesses will be able to do both!”

The partnership means that freight exchange customers using fuel cards will also be protected from fraud as the monthly HMRC VAT approved invoice shows exactly when, where and how much fuel was purchased making it virtually impossible to fabricate journeys or exaggerate fuel claims.

Paul Walton at the Transport Exchange Group said: “The partnership with The Fuelcard Company represents a real commercial opportunity for the Transport Exchange, allowing us to offer businesses real value on their fuel purchasing in addition to ongoing support in managing fuel costs.”

The Transport Exchange Group operates throughout the UK and Europe, allowing transport companies and hauliers to search advertisements for freight requiring delivery and vice versa, thus avoiding empty loads and maximising vehicle usage.