No surprise — fuel prices concern private fleet managers more than any other issue. That finding is contained in a recently released survey of 200 managers commissioned by First Fleet Corporation and conducted by Dr Luiz Duarte, vice-president of Starmark Market Intelligence. First Fleet is a national provider of asset management, financial services, and operations support to the transportation industry. It owns or manages more than 15,000 trucks, tractors, and trailers for a client list that includes Kraft, Maytag, Hormel, and Tropicana.
Dr Duarte conducted the survey at the First Fleet Spring Fleet Managers' Conference in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, and on the Internet. Total responses exceeded 25%, up from a response rate of 16% to a similar survey conducted in the fall of 2004.
The hottest topic in the trucking industry is finding new solutions to reduce fuel consumption and ways to reduce the impact of fuel prices on profit margins, says John Flynn, president and CEO of First Fleet. In an attempt to manage fuel prices, 48% of survey respondents said that they used on-site fueling, while 38% reported issuing credit or debit cards to drivers for fuel purchases from truckstop chains where the fleets have negotiated pricing agreements in place. About 12% of respondents use credit cards to purchase fuel at posted prices and 5% pay for fuel with cash.
In the survey, fleet managers admit that they have little control over fuel prices. However, they do note that controlling idle time and improving vehicle fuel economy can help control fuel costs.
Fleet managers surveyed also expressed concern about maintenance management and response to accidents. According to the survey, 34% of private fleets perform maintenance in on-site facilities. Another 23% report outsourcing maintenance and repairs to contractors, and 42% use a combination of company shops and third party contractors. Of those that purchase maintenance from third parties, 90% of them say they have been using contractors for more than two years. However, only 3% of fleets have resorted to outsourcing maintenance services during the past two years.
The call-up of reserves and National Guard units may have temporarily reduced the number of qualified diesel technicians in the workforce. At least 33% of survey respondents said that they found it difficult to recruit and retain qualified technicians. The same difficulty seems to apply to third party maintenance providers. One fleet manager said that it is almost impossible to get same-day service on the road, and many shops claiming to offer 24-hour service close at midnight because of insufficient staffing.
Conventional wisdom holds that new trucks are more reliable than older models. However, the First Fleet survey does not support this view entirely, as 38% of respondents said trucks purchased within the past two years are more reliable than previous purchases, 38% said that new trucks are just as reliable, and only 15% saying that new trucks are less reliable than older trucks. One respondent noted that equipment quality can be a problem; “Today's workmanship is a big concern,” he said.
Private fleet managers say that fleets operating in urban environments on a daily basis have a fairly high exposure to accidents. Moving past the issue of safety management, 83% of survey respondents said that the issues associated with accidents, including recovery costs and repairs, are handled inside the company. Of the 14% of respondents that do not handle accident management internally, 56% outsource the task. Asked to rate the various aspects of handling the aftermath of accidents, survey respondents gave the highest rating to vehicle repairs and expressed the most dissatisfaction with the availability of substitute equipment for use while a wreck is being repaired.
