By Whitney Reynolds, Vice President, FleetShare, Merchants Fleet
February 11, 2026
As we kick off 2026, fleet management feels less like crisis response and more like sustained pressure. The acute supply chain disruptions of recent years have largely eased, but costs remain elevated, uncertainty persists, and new variables—from tariffs to regulatory shifts—continue to surface with little warning.
In conversations with fleet leaders, I hear a consistent theme: the expectation to deliver certainty in an environment that no longer offers it. That tension is forcing many organizations to rethink long-standing assumptions about Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Increasingly, I believe the next era of fleet TCO won’t be defined by what fleets acquire next, but by how effectively they use the vehicles they already own or lease.
TCO Is Becoming a Utilization Conversation
The way we assess fleet TCO is undoubtedly changing, and the catalyst is technology. Historically, operational TCO was evaluated primarily through fuel consumption, maintenance expense, and mileage as it relates to depreciation. Those inputs still matter, but they no longer tell the full story.
Today, fleet teams have access to real-time vehicle data through telematics and integrated platforms. That visibility enables a more proactive approach to daily management and cost control. Utilization, in particular, has emerged as one of the most actionable levers fleets can pull.
When you can clearly see which vehicles are being used, when they’re being used, and where demand actually exists, you can make decisions that reduce cost before it shows up on a report.
Whitney Reynolds, VP of FleetShare
In my role leading FleetShare at Merchants Fleet, I spend a lot of time helping organizations improve utilization across vehicles already in service. This is an important distinction. Fleets don’t need to order new vehicles or restructure acquisition plans to take advantage of shared-use strategies. In many cases, they simply need better tools and data to unlock value from what they already have.
Why Utilization Has Moved to the Center of Fleet Economics
Utilization has always mattered, but today it sits at the center of fleet economics because idle assets are increasingly expensive assets.
Irrespective of industry, unused equipment is a red flag. Optimization isn’t a buzzword in fleet management. It’s an ongoing discipline that balances operational demand with cost control.
When utilization is too low, fixed costs are spread across fewer productive miles or hours, inflating TCO without adding value. When utilization is too high, fleets face increased maintenance expenses and risk eroding residual value at resale. Finding the right balance is critical.
That balance directly impacts capital expenditure, productivity, and the bottom line. And in an environment where acquisition costs remain high and interest rates are still elevated, getting utilization right is often one of the most effective ways to control TCO.
Volatility only magnifies the importance of this discipline. Seasonality, project-based work, and multi-shift operations all create uneven usage patterns that traditional one-vehicle-per-driver models struggle to absorb efficiently.
Rethinking Ownership Through Shared-Use Models
As cost pressure persists, more fleets are reconsidering how vehicles are assigned and accessed. Shared-use models are gaining traction not simply as a cost-saving measure, but to introduce flexibility into fleet operations.
Seasonality has a clear impact across many fleets, pulling utilization down at certain points of the year. Shift work can have a similar effect. To combat these operational lulls, fleets may consider evolving into a shared pool model.
Rather than assigning vehicles permanently to individuals, shared fleets centralize assets and make them available based on real-time need. Technology platforms like FleetShare are designed to support this approach by managing access, availability, and utilization across owned or leased vehicles.
In a high-cost environment, the ability to unlock flexibility from existing assets can be just as impactful as negotiating the next acquisition.
Visibility Enables Better Placement and Faster Decisions
Shared-use strategies depend on visibility. Without accurate insight into availability and usage, fleets can’t confidently redeploy assets or reduce excess capacity.
It ultimately comes down to understanding where demand resides and positioning the fleet accordingly. Historical data enables fleets to pre-position vehicles in anticipation of high-use periods, while real-time data allows them to pivot operationally in response to unexpected demand.
Both perspectives matter. Together, they strengthen decision-making, provided there is a willingness to adapt. Fleets that can act quickly are better positioned to avoid unnecessary acquisitions, rentals, or prolonged underutilization.
FleetShare as an Enabler of Intelligent Utilization
FleetShare supports this evolution by providing a centralized platform for managing shared access to vehicles across locations. By integrating reservation management, secure access, and telematics-informed insights, it helps fleets align availability with actual demand while reducing administrative complexity.
Because FleetShare is designed to work with vehicles already in service, organizations can implement shared-use strategies without changing fleet composition. Drivers gain predictable access through self-service tools, and fleet managers gain the visibility needed to make informed utilization decisions.
Rather than managing TCO after costs are incurred, fleets can influence it in real time by ensuring assets are being used where and when they deliver the most value.
A Practical Utilization Use Case
Final-mile delivery fleets offer a clear illustration of how utilization strategy can influence TCO. These operations often experience significant volume fluctuations tied to seasonality and consumer demand.
In working with several final-mile delivery providers, I’ve seen fleets face the temptation to procure large volumes of short-term rentals during peak periods. While that may solve an immediate availability issue, it introduces high fixed costs and the risk of underutilization once demand normalizes.
Instead, establishing a shared fleet with real-time availability across multiple geographically dispersed locations has proven to be more operationally effective and financially sound. By pooling existing assets and improving visibility, fleets can respond to demand spikes without permanently expanding fleet size.
Preparing for More Dynamic Fleet Models
As fleets look ahead, adaptability will matter more than precision forecasting. Cost pressure is unlikely to ease meaningfully in the near term, and new disruptions will continue to challenge assumptions.
There are plenty of opportunities to reduce TCO, but it starts with embracing the technology already available and insisting on good data. Fleet leaders also need to be willing to challenge the status quo. In many cases, unconventional approaches deliver the strongest results.
Over-fleeting remains one of the most common contributors to poor utilization and elevated TCO. More often than not, less really is more.
TCO as a Strategic Lever
In 2026, TCO is no longer just a retrospective calculation. It’s a strategic lever that fleets can actively influence through intelligent utilization, asset placement, and access models that reflect real-world demand.
Shared-use strategies, supported by platforms like FleetShare, help organizations build fleets that absorb volatility rather than amplify it. As uncertainty becomes a constant, the fleets that succeed will be those that replace static ownership assumptions with data-driven flexibility.
The work ahead isn’t about eliminating volatility. It’s about building systems that manage it without passing the cost downstream.
