Study identifies fleet preferences on parts, service

Sept. 20, 2016

FTR and CK Commercial Vehicle Research have teamed up to publish a report focusing on how fleets use their vehicles, how they service and repair them, and how they purchase parts for them.

The 30-page report gives a close look at the activity that drives equipment replacement and parts purchases such as vehicle age, typical trade cycles, miles driven per year, and preventive maintenance intervals. The total cost of maintenance and replacement parts (including tires) is analyzed by identifying the annual dollars the reporting fleets spend for the vehicles they operate. The survey also identifies preferences for service and parts vendors.
 
Some findings from the study that are included in the report:      

  • Typical PM schedules for all fleets reporting is 2.3 months for trucks and 2.7 months for trailers.
  • More than half of outsourced maintenance work is performed by O.E. dealers.
  • The primary reason given for outsourcing maintenance is the lack of technical knowledge to complete the work at the fleet level.
  • For most fleets, when Class 8 trucks pass the 6-year old mark, average annual part cost can increase by as much as 50%.
  • Class 8 ton miles forecasted to increase 1.1% 2016 vs. 2015.
  • Class 8 miles driven (industry wide) is expected to increase in 2016, 2.2% over 2015.
  • Average Class 8 vehicle age differs significantly between small, medium and large fleets as reported by survey participants.  For small fleets, the average age of their Class 8 vehicles is 5.0 years while large fleets report an average of 2.7 years. 

For more information, visit trintel.com/2016study​ or contact [email protected] or C[email protected].