June 2013:
Vehicle Operating Costs Rise 3.1% in Latest Annual Fleet Survey
Longer vehicle lifecycles drive up non-fuel operating costs

Non-fuel vehicle operating costs edged up 3.1% during our latest 12-month survey period and currently stand at 5.32 cents per mile on a national, fleetwide basis. This year’s increase is continuing evidence that fleet managers are succeeding in their efforts to keep vehicle operating costs as low as possible, despite myriad cost factors outside their control.

Excluding fuel, vehicle operating costs now range from a low of  4.358 cents per mile (cpm) for midsize passenger cars to a high of 6.373 cpm for full-size passenger and cargo vans.

Non-fuel operating costs include preventive maintenance, unscheduled repairs, tire replacement, and engine oil consumed between regularly scheduled oil changes. On a percentage basis, oil replenishment costs rose 3.6% during the past year, followed by a 3.4% increase in tire replacement costs. Non-warranty repair costs rose 2.9%, while preventive maintenance costs rose 3.1% because many cash-strapped fleets have curtailed new-vehicle purchases and extended their vehicle replacement intervals . . .

For the year ahead most fleets are bracing for additional, across-the-
board increases in non-fuel operating costs. If history is a guide the next 12 months will add another . . .

 
                             (excerpts from the June issue)

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April 2013:
Fleet Budget Cuts Continue to Squeeze AFV and EV Acquisitions
No money to waste on pricey and marginal technologies

Fleet managers are finding it hard to develop a green, environmentally progressive fleet when their budgets are being stripped to the bone. Carmakers have long expected fleets to lead the way in adopting new-vehicle technologies, but in the case of AFVs – hybrids and plug-ins in particular – sales growth is being driven by everyday consumers, not centralized corporate and government fleets.

Several roadblocks are preventing most fleets from embracing the green vehicle revolution. Money is an obvious issue, particularly among government fleets that have for years suffered from declining tax revenues and now face additional sequester-related funding cuts. But the lack of funding isn’t the only issue. When it comes to alternative fuels and groundbreaking propulsion technologies, plenty of fleets have been enthusiastic early adopters, but the results have been far from ideal.

One of the biggest boondoggles to sweep the fleet industry was the hype surrounding ethanol and flex-fueled vehicles. There was a time when fleet managers viewed E-85 vehicles as an easy and effective way to establish an alternative-fueled future. Carmakers and lawmakers stoked the enthusiasm for ethanol but their motives were based on convenience and profit, not ethanol’s effectiveness or practicality.

The electric vehicle industry is being developed in a similarly haphazard way and early adopters are at risk of paying too much . . .

                             (excerpts from the April issue)

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March 2013:
V2V Promises Huge Car Safety Gains
Convergence of wireless technologies and vehicle safety  systems

V2V and V2I are about to revolutionize motor vehicle safety. These abbreviations stand for systems that allow for “vehicle-to-vehicle” and “vehicle-to-infrastructure” communication. Think of cars that talk to each other while simultaneously communicating with traffic signs and signals along the way. It may sound like science fiction but in fact all the pieces are in place for the global implementation of vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

Automotive engineers have been dreaming up and refining V2V and V2I technologies for over a decade. The researchers’ goal is to create an information network that will warn drivers of roadway dangers and other driving conditions, including proximity to high-risk situations and other vehicles in the vicinity. A lot of the research and development has taken place in Europe, but the U.S. has been no laggard by any measure.

In the very near future cars will alert each other when a crash is imminent or when nearby vehicles are traveling too fast, too slow, or outside expected parameters, such as cars pulling out into traffic. Roadway signs and signals will
                                               (excerpts from the March issue)

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February 2013:
Are Any of Your Fleet Drivers Stoned?
Fleet managers have multiple reasons to remain vigilant

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a lot more common than many people think. Based on several studies there is a good chance most fleets have drivers who operate company vehicles while under the influence. With nearly 15% of the general population driving around with drugs or alcohol in their blood it is hard to imagine that fleets are somehow unaffected.

In California, a roadside survey detected drugs in one of every seven weekend nighttime drivers. In fact, the survey showed that more drivers tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14%) than they did for alcohol. Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4%, slightly more than alcohol.

The same survey found that 7.3% of drivers tested positive for alcohol. Of those testing positive for alcohol, 23% also tested positive for at least one other drug. This combination can increase the effect of both substances. Illegal drugs were found in the systems of 4.6% of drivers, and 4.6% also tested positive for prescription or over-the-counter medications that may impair driving. More than one quarter (26.5%) of drivers testing positive for marijuana also tested positive for at least one other drug.

In a separate nationwide analysis, NHTSA found a drug use prevalence rate of 11% for daytime drivers and 14.4% for nighttime drivers. This difference between day and night is statistically significant. Among nighttime drivers . . .
                                               (excerpts from the February issue)

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January 2013:
Should Fleets Worry About Tire Aging?
Specialty vehicles and equipment may be most vulnerable

Most fleet cars and light trucks rack up mileage on a daily basis and burn through tires long before the risks of tire aging and so-called dry rot come into play. Yet time-based tire degradation can be a problem for some fleets where specialized trucks and equipment are seldom used and often sit idle in outdoor storage areas for extended periods of time. Even new replacement tires held in storage for later use are subject to material degradation. Here’s a list of facts to keep in mind about this issue.

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December 2012:
Fleets Wary of New “Black Box” Rule
Federal EDR mandate raises safety, privacy, liability concerns

Some fleet managers say the proposed federal law requiring event data recorders in all new vehicles renews earlier concerns about who owns and who has legal access to EDR data, as well as how such data might be used to prove negligence and liability.

Current EDR systems record basic vehicle inputs like speed, steering position, braking, seat belt compliance, and airbag operation in the event a collision occurs. The parameters on this short list have swayed plenty of juries. But enhanced EDR systems on the drawing boards are expected to collect and store hundreds of facts related to vehicle operation, from tire pressure to radio volume. Here’s a rundown of the fed’s proposed rule.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing a new standard that would capture valuable safety-related data in the seconds before and during a motor vehicle crash. The proposed rule would require automakers to install event data recorders (EDRs) — devices that collect specific safety related data — in all light passenger vehicles beginning September 1, 2014.

NHTSA estimates that approximately 96% of model year 2013 passenger cars and light-duty vehicles are already equipped with EDR capability. These devices are located in the vehicle and require special hardware and software to copy the information. A crash or airbag deployment typically triggers the EDR, which collects data in the seconds before and during a crash . . .
                                               (excerpts from the December issue)

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November 2012:
Fleets Also Face Fiscal Cliff in 2013
Nation’s fragile economic recovery is about to be slammed

A lot of fleet managers have been dealing with fiscal cliffs for some time, so all the media attention now being placed on Washington’s fiscal predicament might seem like old news to many in our industry. But fleet budgets are about to be squeezed even more in the months ahead.

Fleets have been suffering the consequences of a weak economy for several years. The tipping point occurred in 2008 with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a global financial firm. The sudden collapse of Lehman, which was considered “too big to fail” long before too-big-to-fail became a standard economic concept, sent shock waves throughout the U.S. and European economies. Within a year the U.S. auto industry was on the brink of liquidation and the federal government was in full bailout mode.

Most economists agree the Fed’s aggressive intervention prevented a total meltdown of the U.S. economy–and by extension the global economy. But the economies of the U.S. and many other countries are far from recovered and the impact is evident across every economic sector, from small businesses to government agencies and multinational corporations. Economic uncertainly is the new normal.

Unfortunately, the situation in the U.S. is about to grow worse and a new wave of economic belt tightening is on the horizon. The so-called fiscal cliff . . .

                                               (excerpts from the November issue)

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October 2012:
2012 Fleet Manager Salary Survey
Declining corporate fleet salaries drag down entire industry

The average salary among North American fleet managers stands at $64,490 according to our latest industry survey. This represents an industrywide decline of 1.9% compared to last year and a whopping 8.3% decline over the past 24 months.

The drop in career-wide fleet manager salaries is the result of rapidly declining earnings among corporate/business fleets. In fact, a weak corporate sector is masking the relative strength of other sectors. Excluding corporate/business fleets, salaries for government/public sector fleet managers have managed to hold steady over the past two years, while managers of private utility fleets have seen two years of modest salary gains.

Corporate fleets have suffered declining salaries for most of the past decade. Part of the decline reflects a shift toward younger, cheaper hires as senior managers reach retirement age and drop out of the industry. But a more controversial shift is also underway among corporate sector fleets. A wave of outsourcing and over dependence on third-party fleet service providers has relegated many corporate fleet managers to middleman status. In some cases third-party providers have persuaded upper management that things can work quite well with or without a full-time fleet manager on the payroll. At the risk of offending some very talented managers working in the corporate sector . . .

                                               (excerpts from the October issue)

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Corrected Page
October 2012 -  page 2
Fleet Manager Salary by Type of Fleet
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August 2012:
Annual Survey Results: In-House Fleet Mantenance
PM intervals, repair technician pay, vehicle-to-mechanic ratios

A persistently weak economy across most businesses and governmental sectors continues to challenge fleet managers responsible for in-house vehicle maintenance operations. Results of our latest fleet management survey show a continuing erosion in fleet mechanic pay, though other key metrics of in-house maintenance seem to be stabilizing to some extent.

Industrywide, in-house repair technicians have suffered a 10.2% cut in pay over the past 12-month survey period. This compares to a cut averaging 2.6% reported in last year’s survey, on top of a 1.6% drop in earnings two years ago. Clearly fleet mechanics are being squeezed. In better times they might move on to other garages outside of fleet, but all repair shops from dealerships to mom-and-pop independents are feeling the pinch as vehicle owners defer maintenance until an actual breakdown occurs.

As we reported last summer, these trends are being driven by a sluggish economic recovery and persistently high unemployment. Among many corporate/business fleets, vehicle count and miles driven are both down. Among some government fleets, trucks and equipment often sit idle because tax revenues have evaporated, resulting in . . .

                                               (excerpts from the August issue)

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July 2012:
HLDI Safety Update: Crash Avoidance
Latest safety features delivering meaningful real-world results

An early crop of advanced crash avoidance technologies includes some clear success stories when it comes to preventing crashes, insurance claim analyses by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) show.

Forward collision avoidance systems, particularly those that can brake autonomously, along with adaptive headlights, which shift direction as the driver steers, show the biggest crash reductions. Lane departure warning appears to hurt, rather than help, though it's not clear why, and other systems, such as blind spot detection and park assist, aren't showing clear effects on crash patterns yet.

"As more automakers offer advanced technologies on their vehicles, insurance data provide an early glimpse of how these features perform in the real world," says Matt Moore, vice president of HLDI, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). "So far, forward collision technology is reducing claims, particularly for damage to other vehicles, and adaptive headlights are having an even bigger impact than we had anticipated."

HLDI analysts looked at how each feature affected claim frequency under a variety of insurance coverages for damage and injuries. Clear patterns were seen in claims under property damage liability (PDL) insurance . . .

                                               (excerpts from the July issue)

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June 2012:
Fleet Charging Station Costs for Plug-in Electric Vehicles
Equipment and installation costs pose a challenge for fleets

If you want to establish a charging station, you need to know about electric vehicle supply equipment, commonly referred to as EVSE. There are various types of EVSE —which differ based on communication capabilities and how quickly they can charge a vehicle. This article presents EVSE information developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program.

Types of Charging Equipment (EVSE)

EVSE for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) is classified into several categories by the rate at which the batteries are charged. Two types — Level 1 and Level 2 — provide alternating-current (AC) electricity to the vehicle, with the vehicle’s onboard equipment (charger) converting AC to the direct current (DC) needed to charge the batteries. The other type — DC fast charging — provides DC electricity directly to the vehicle. Charging times range from less than 30 minutes to 20 hours or more, based on the type or level of EVSE; the type of battery, its energy capacity, and how depleted it is; and the size of the vehicle’s internal charger.

Many medium- and heavy-duty PEV manufacturers are adopting light-duty charging standards or commercially available standards developed for other uses. However, some manufacturers are introducing alternative charging configurations . . .

                                               (excerpts from the June issue)

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