Routing Technology Can Help Your Fleet Avoid a Brain Drain
By Ted Lee, Head of Business Development and Innovation, Magellan GPS
The fleet trucking industry is at the crossroads of a dilemma.
Professional truck drivers from the baby boomer generation are retiring, leaving the fleet industry to face a severe shortage of qualified drivers. As many as 25 percent of today’s drivers will retire over the next three-to-five years.
But it’s not just their behind-the-wheel experience the industry will be losing; it will also be at risk of losing their route-knowledge, key information that often goes unrecorded, such as knowing which roads are hazardous and how to get around unexpected obstacles.
It’s a brain drain the industry can ill afford, especially as it hopes to recruit new drivers to meet rising demand.
Now What?
We know that we have not yet triumphed over COVID-19; new infections are rising in too many places, but many of us are optimistic that wearing a mask and maintaining a proper social distance has upped our odds for staying safe. It feels as if we have a bit of control, which makes it all the easier to look ahead and plan for the future.
Many of you know Steve Saltzgiver; he has a depth of experience in the fleet industry that few can match. A frequent guest contributor to FMW, Steve has written a definitive treatise on post-pandemic planning in the wake of the emerging deep recession: Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Fleet Management: Now What? Steve says, “No one really knows the extent of the impact, but if past recessions are an indicator, we should expect to see fleet budgets slashed, equipment lifecycles extended, staff sizes decreased, and salaries reduced in the short term to overcome the financial downturn.” Now what?
Timely webinar – June 25, 2:00 to 3:30 PM EDT : Fleet Business Strategies During the Pandemic and Recovery Afterward: What Practices Will Become Permanent? Register here!
Finally, heartfelt congratulations to Kate Vigneau and fleetcompetence Group! We are delighted to announce that Kate has joined the global fleet consulting firm!
Stay Well & Drive Safety,
GM Starts Electric Van Program Said To Aim To ‘Beat Tesla To The Segment’
General Motors Co. is developing an electric van aimed at business users, joining a growing list of carmakers planning EVs for the same segment which includes customers such as Amazon.com Inc and United Parcel Service Inc.
The Detroit automakers, which count trucks and commercial vehicles among their most profitable businesses, ‘don’t want to leave the door open for Tesla’ as they did in consumer passenger cars.
The GM electric van is code-named BV1, and it is due to start production in late 2021 at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck factory. It will be built using GM’s new Ultium battery platform, which will support a series of new electric vehicles coming in the next few years.
Read the article at Electrek.
Fleet Sales Continue to Get Pummeled, Rental Units Drop 91.3% in May
Year-over-year fleet sales continued its remarkable decline compared to the prior year as the combined rental, commercial and government purchases of new vehicles were down 83.2% in May.
Total fleet volume in May was 52,203, down significantly from 311,202 in May 2019. Rental units led the drop with a 91.3% decrease year over year in May. The dismal May result follows drops in both March (down 34%) and April (down 77%).
It’s not all bad news for the industry, though. As Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Cox Automotive notes, “Reduced fleet business is not necessarily an awful trend, as automakers need to be replenishing dealer lots to help deliver more profitable retail business. If there is ever a good time for bad fleet, it’s now.”
Read the article at Cox Automotive.
Ford Faces Huge Challenge As It Launches 4 Key Models At Frantic Pace
Getting quality and performance right from the first car out of the factory is never easy, but Ford faces added challenges after the two-month-plus COVID-19 shutdown of assembly plants.
In September, Ford’s scheduled big production launches are: F-150 at the Rouge Complex in Dearborn in September, Mustang Mach-E in Cuauttilan, Mexico, and Bronco Sport in Louisville. The Bronco will be produced in Wayne, Michigan, February 2021.
This year, “we had to adjust schedules to a degree due to COVID-19,” Ford North America Chief Operating Officer Lisa Drake said. The lost time when people would have been physically in the plants installing new manufacturing equipment will delay when production of some vehicles begins slightly, but engineers unexpectedly got a couple of extra months to live with the new vehicles, time to spot issues and refine performance.
Read the article at Detroit Free Press.
