Modern work trucks often need to serve as more than just a sturdy body. They need to be power stations and mobile offices—and need to be operational as often as possible. To keep up, work truck OEMs have to evolve, constantly reinventing their strategies for advanced driver assistance systems, predictive maintenance, and beyond.
To explain how that is happening in 2026, Ford Pro's Eric Rice, general manager of U.S. fleet sales, details the industry's latest trends.
Catch this episode of The Fleet Lead podcast here or search for The Fleet Lead on your favorite podcast app.
Timestamps:
- 02:23 - Total cost of ownership
- 07:35 - Advanced safety tech
- 11:35 - The technician shortage
- 16:30 - Machine learning for actionable data
- 18:30 - Race to zero downtime
About the Author
John Hitch
Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance, Senior Editor, Trailer-Body Builders
John Hitch is the editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance management and technicians with the the latest information on the tools and strategies to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade.
Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner, and covers everything related to trucking and commercial vehicle equipment, including breaking news, the latest trends and best practices. He previously wrote about manufacturing and advanced technology for IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest.
Prior to that he was editor for Kent State University's student magazine, The Burr, and a freelancer for Cleveland Magazine. He is an award-winning journalist and former sonar technician, where he served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723).