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FleetManagementWeekly
July 12, 2022

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Editor’s Analysis & Top Industry News

Agents of Change

Ed Pierce authors a well-timed article: The Corporate Fleet Manager As Change Agent. He says, “…today’s fleet manager must stay on top of the economic, market, customer, competitive and internal goings-on as thoroughly as they manage fleet operations using advanced fleet analytics.” Now, how do we do all that?

ESG = Environmental, Social, and Governance. We hear a lot about the E (climate change and sustainability) and the G (how a company is led and managed), but what about the S? Suresh Rajapakse speaks eloquently to this important component.

Fleet Street president Steve Bender has a few things to say about why he’s an avid proponent of AFLA. Reminder: If you’re new or “newish” to the fleet community, our industry organizations are welcoming.

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ~Nelson Mandela


VIDEO: The Importance of Social in ESG Methodology

From addressing racism and homophobia to diversifying leadership, the Social aspect is a critical component when it comes to ESG methodology.

VIDEO: The Benefits of AFLA Involvement


  Treated as an Equal by Industry Leaders
 

There are a number of benefits to being deeply involved with AFLA, just one of which is getting to connect with industry leaders.


Zoom Video Interview with YOU Here?

  Request for Zoom Video Interviews
 

We’re ramping up FMW’s video interviews via Zoom given the times, and are looking to speak with a variety industry experts (and we know that many of you are reading!).

Please feel free to suggest yourself, or someone you know. Any and all timely industry topics will be considered, and we look forward to speaking with you!

Email Ted Roberts to learn more: [email protected].


Spotlight

Commercial Vehicle Data Shows Possible Light at the End of the Tunnel Commercial Vehicle Data Shows Possible Light at the End of the Tunnel

Work Truck Solutions® released its second quarter ComTrend Analysis of new and used commercial vehicles.

Commenting on the latest data, Kathryn Schifferle, CEO of Work Truck Solutions, said “The second quarter shows the continued demand for both new and used commercial vehicles. Given that these work trucks and vans fuel so many businesses throughout the entire economy, it makes sense that shoppers for these vehicles continue to search for and purchase them.”

READ MORE

Cox Auto Mobility Launches Suite of Fleet Solutions Cox Auto Mobility Launches Suite of Fleet Solutions to Boost Operations

Cox Automotive Mobility is enhancing the flow, health and life cycle of fleets of all types and sizes through its digital-first suite of fleet solutions to optimize operations for owners, operators and fleets across the country.

As the A.C.E.S. (autonomous/aerial, connected, electric, shared) future of transportation continues to unfold, fleet providers will face an increasing need for tools and service capabilities to support complex vehicle needs.

READ MORE

NAFA: EV Tools of the Trade Seminar Series

Transition Planning & Analysis for Electric Vehicle Fleet Adoption

August 10-19, 2022

The future of electric vehicles is here. Are you ready? This multi-part online series will help you lead your fleet into the electric age putting critical tools of the trade to work for you.

Building on your existing knowledge, EV fleet thought leaders will help you determine how adoption can energize your bottom line, reduce your carbon footprint, and deliver unparalleled convenience to your team.

LEARN MORE

Ed Pierce, A Call to Action A Call to Action: How to Develop a Marketing Content Strategy

By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketing Consultant

A smart content management strategy is absolutely necessary for fleet providers’ marketing teams, not only to manage the huge volume of your data efficiently but also to allow informed decision-making.

Let’s look at a content management strategy in detail:

While to develop an effective marketing content strategy, you must first identify your audience personas. You must also define your content goals and measure the effectiveness of your content.

Let’s look at how to develop a content strategy and adapt it to different platforms.

READ MORE

The Changing Fleet Landscape


By Ed Pierce, Contributing Editor

With the many concurrent changes affecting business fleets these days, how has the role of corporate fleet manager changed?

More than ever, the successful fleet manager is now an agent of change, not a victim of change.

Rather than being whipsawed by higher fuel operating costs, for example, while dealing with vehicle management direction to tamp down expenses due to market conditions, today’s fleet manager must stay on top of the economic, market, customer, competitive, and internal goings-on as thoroughly as they manage fleet operations using advanced fleet analytics.

The fleet manager must become a strategist rather than just an implementer to achieve the best results for all stakeholders – the company, its customers, and its drivers.

READ MORE

 

Supply Chain Challenges


Element Fleet has released its 2022 Second Quarter Trends Report.

Focusing on such key issues as safety, supply chain, remarketing and rising fuel costs, the report offers a number of actionable recommendations designed to alleviate the many challenges of managing a vehicle fleet during this tumultuous era.

Supply chain challenges are affecting all industries and that’s no different for auto manufacturers, who predict this to continue well into 2023.

The used vehicle market remains hotter than ever. This trend will likely subside once new vehicle production kicks into higher gear, as predicted by the report for later this year. The situation is not without its upside for fleet managers.

READ MORE

 

Fleet Cost Savings Calculator


By Ed Smith, President, Agile Fleet

In over 22 years of working with hundreds of fleets of all types and sizes, we’ve never seen anything more effective at producing savings than by right-sizing a fleet with automated vehicle sharing.

Why? Because idle vehicles cost money… lots of money. Improving how you share vehicles allows you to eliminate vehicles from your fleet while continuing to provide drivers with the access they need.

To put this into perspective, the following example illustrates that for each fleet vehicle that you eliminate, you can save more than $50,000 over ten years.

READ MORE


Trending

Gas Prices Now Dropping Below $4 a Gallon in Some Parts of US: Analyst

July 8, 2022Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy predicted Wednesday that the United States would see “thousands of [gas] stations falling back under $4 per gallon” within days. True to his projection, De Haan revealed Friday morning that GasBuddy has since received nearly 6,000 individual reports of prices below $4 a gallon.

GasBuddy reported that gas prices had fallen for a third straight week, after momentarily eclipsing $5 per gallon in early June. Tuesday reportedly marked a week-over-week price drop of over $0.10, bringing the national average to $4.78 a gallon, down over $0.07 from this time last month.

Prices appear to be on track for yet another week of decline, as AAA states that gas prices stand at $4.72 today. That’d suggest a daily fall of $0.02 so far this week. Year-over-year, however, prices remain up $1.66.

via The Drive

Ford Addresses One Fire-Related Recall Just as Another Flares Up

July 8, 2022 – The 2020-2021 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator are under recall for a fire risk and, because the SUVs could go up in flames even while parked with the engine off, it was strongly recommended that owners park those vehicles outside, away from garages or structures, until a fix could be performed.

Ford has found the cause and it’s a common theme of 2021 that continues into the middle of 2022: a supply chain issue. In this case, it’s not the lack of a part but because a part was made by a different manufacturer to alleviate the supply issues.

On the heels of that fix for the Expedition and Navigator comes word of potential fires in 2020-2022 Ford Escape, Lincoln Corsair, and 2022 Ford Maverick models equipped with the 2.5-liter I-4 hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrains.

via MotorTrend

You’re Much More Likely to Buy an EV if You’ve Ever Had a Ride in One

July 8, 2022The percentage of Americans who say they would “definitely buy” an electric vehicle has more than tripled over the past two years. It went from just 4% of Americans in 2020 to 14% in the latest Consumer Reports survey of attitudes towards electric vehicles.

One of the biggest predictors of whether someone said they would at least consider getting an electric car was, simply, whether they’d had any experience with one in real life. Almost half of those who said they would “definitely” buy or lease an electric vehicle had a friend, relative or co-worker who owned one.

“If we put the survey out today, I’m sure even more people would be inclined to choose an electric vehicle,” Quinta Warren, associate director of sustainability policy for Consumer Reports said.

via CNN Business

Honda Hackers Learned How to Unlock and Remotely Start Cars

July 8, 2022Researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Honda vehicles that could allow hackers to unlock doors and start the cars remotely. The security flaw has been named “RollingPWN,” and it affects all Honda models released between 2012 and 2022.

The flaw traces to the keyless entry system Honda cars use, as Kevin26000. They found the bug affects ten of the most popular Honda models, which leads them to believe it affects virtually all Hondas from 2012 onward.

The team suggests a solution requires a recall of all affected vehicles, but given how many Hondas use rolling codes, that doesn’t seem feasible. The researchers concluded by saying more research is coming, because they believe the bug affects many more vehicles — not just Hondas.

via Jalopnik

EV Road Trips


July 8, 2022 EVs bring new variables to driving, and they can have a pretty profound impact on what seems like a simple task: getting from Point A to Point B. The biggest mistake anyone can make on an EV road trip is assuming it will feel as “normal” as taking long drives in gas-powered cars.

The US EV infrastructure is split between several major players; ChargePoint, Electrify America and EVgo. Some chargers are able to accept card payments at the point of sale, but it’s easier to plan ahead. Just as it’s smart to fill up a gas tank the night before a big drive, it’s wise to top off a battery in the same way. It’s smart to plan backup chargers in the off chance your intended ones aren’t functional

An important thing EV road trippers need to keep in mind: Your car’s telematics are likely offering best-case scenario range figures. It’s in your best interest to juice up more often than those estimates.

via CNET

 

Crash-Free Culture


By Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving

In short, absolutely!

But first, let’s clarify what we are discussing – the use of statistical techniques from data mining, predictive modeling and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or otherwise unknown events – in this case, road traffic collisions.

Predictive analytics and predictive modeling have been at the center of enterprise driver risk management for many years, yet many predictive models do not provide an effective and complete approach.

These days, some believe that telematics alone is all that is needed to make effective risk management decisions that protect both employees while driving for work purposes, as well as the wider community in which your employees live and work.

READ MORE

 

Truck Underride Protection


July 6, 2022In its long-awaited rule on truck underride protection, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) appears to be out of sync with the Safe System strategy adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) earlier this year.

While the new standard is an improvement over the old one, nearly all newly manufactured guards on trailers already meet this new standard, which is similar to a longstanding Canadian requirement. Meanwhile, IIHS crash testing and the TOUGHGUARD award inaugurated in 2017 have pushed the largest trailer manufacturers to strengthen their underride guards well beyond this level, demonstrating that further improvements are feasible.

To truly reduce the number of lives lost in underride crashes, NHTSA needs to incorporate changes that would require crash testing of guards when mounted on trailers, allow fewer exemptions for other kinds of trucks and improve protection in offset crashes. The Safe System strategy, if it is to be more than words on paper, requires NHTSA to take all these steps.

via IIHS





Fleet Management Resources

 

AFLA
The Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association. Advancing corporate fleet worldwide.

FLD
The fast, easy way to remarket without risk. Get an offer in hours, paid in a few days. Improve TCO. Save time, money and resources.

PARS
PARS’ mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.

Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.

Fleet Street
Fleet Street has 30+ years of experience and knowledge using a spectrum of wholesale and retail channels to simplify your involvement in the remarketing process.

SuperVision
SuperVision is a fleet driver management solution for MVR & license monitoring, fleet management, fleet safety oversight and driver performance and retention.

eDriving
eDriving partners with its clients to engage with drivers and their managers to create a culture that supports lasting behavioral change to reduce collisions, injuries, license violations as well as a fleet’s total cost of ownership.

NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.

Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 80 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.




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