THE STATE OF THE COMMERCIAL FLEET MANAGEMENT MARKET IN 2007 automotive fleet & leasing association white paper series volume 1
Turning Change into Opportunity: The State of the Commercial Fleet Management Market in 2007 by Mike Antich, Editor, Automotive Fleet Magazine and AFLA Vice President High Fuel Costs Hit Fleets Hard One of the greatest challenges facing fleet managers is managing fuel costs and identifying ways to decrease this expense. The corollary concern is pricing volatility, which makes budget forecasting difficult. The cost of fuel is now a close second to what fleets spend on depreciation, traditionally the largest fleet-related expense. Fleets especially hard hit have been those with heavy concentrations of diesel equipment as the cost of diesel fuel has risen at a rate greater than unleaded gasoline. This upward trend in fuel prices began in 2004, but truly took off in late 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit production and refining facilities in the southern U.S. The trend has been bolstered by continued instability in the Middle East. The volatility of fuel prices makes fleet budgeting extremely difficult. Even though fleet managers can increase fuel budgets, it is impossible to accurately predict what the actual cost will be by year-end 2007. The informal industry consensus is that fleets will not see a reduction in the cost per gallon of gasoline and diesel anytime in the near future. In this new era of high fuel prices, fleet managers are trying to reduce fuel costs any way they can. There has been an increase in fleets choosing to implement fuel programs to monitor and manage their fleet s fuel expenditures. Those already using a fleet fuel program are keeping closer tabs on fuel exception reports. Some fleets have been able to deflect the impact of fuel increases by shifting to more fuel-efficient vehicles. These fleets are re-evaluating the use of SUVs or moving to smaller SUVs. Fleets that are environmentally or green-conscious have made the move to hybrid vehicles. Fleets are also looking to increase overall fleet mpg through such steps as spec ing four-cylinder engines instead of six-cylinders. Another strategy to reduce fuel expense is optimizing idle vehicles and reducing CPM (cents per mile) expense. Other fleets are exploring telematics, such as using GPS to monitor employees driving patterns and maximizing route efficiency. Many fleet managers have become more vigilant in enforcing scheduled preventive maintenance services to ensure their vehicles remain fuel-efficient. Increasing fuel efficiency goes beyond selector development; it also involves driver compliance and education. Fleet managers are seeking to educate their drivers to be cost-sensitive to the high price of fuel and to avoid refueling at stations with higher than market-level prices. Another way to control fuel costs at the driver level is to set tighter and more-frequent exception reporting to ensure best buying practices, such as identifying the unnecessary purchase of premium fuel and eliminating fraud. While fleets cannot control the cost at the pump, they can utilize measures to reduce consumption, the majority of which rely on drivers. This includes ensuring drivers maintain proper tire pressure, eliminate excessive idling, avoid jackrabbit starts, etc. Fuel economy in medium-duty trucks has been complicated with the introduction of the 2007 diesel emission standards. Fuel economy is actually lower with 2007 diesel engines. Fleets are not only getting lower miles per gallon, but also increased fuel costs due to the higher cost of ultra-low sulfur diesel, along with additional PM costs for special motor oils required for the hotter-running 2007 engines and replacement of diesel particulate filters. Fleets also anticipate increased repair costs because of increased wear and tear due to the hotter-running 2007 engines. Fuel Considerations Influencing Selectors Another manifestation of the heightened concern about fuel prices is reflected in the deletion of SUVs from some corporate selectors. More fleets are under pressure to eliminate large, and even compact, SUVs from their fleets. Getting caught up in this terminology are crossover vehicles, which are being labeled SUVs even though they may be built on a car platform and are more fuel-efficient. High fuel costs are prompting some fleets to establish minimum mpg requirements for vehicle inclusion on a selector. Usually
senior management dictates mpg requirements to the fleet department. A number of other fleets also indicate they are paying closer attention to a vehicle s mpg as selector criteria. They have determined a minimum miles-per-gallon requirement for all levels. A vehicle must meet this set mpg number to be placed on the selector. Fleets across the board are looking to right-size cargo vehicles to minimize fuel expenditures. A key question is whether the smaller vehicle meets the fleet application. The anticipated savings from smaller, less costly, and more efficient vehicles may not be realized if drivers make double trips because they cannot carry sufficient parts or materials. Another consequence of higher fuel costs is that employees at companies who offer a choice of a car allowance or a companyprovided vehicle are increasingly electing to take the company car option due to the increased cost of fuel. There is also a trend to tighten employee eligibility to receive a company vehicle as a way to reduce overall fleet costs. Those unable to meet the new criteria are shifted to driver reimbursement. Fuel Drives Operating Costs Up Fleet managers are under constant pressure to contain or reduce fleet costs, especially since fleet is typically among the top five corporate expenditures, varying in ranking by the nature of the company s business. Overall operating costs for commercial fleets increased 20 to 30 percent, on average, in 2006. Across all vehicle classifications, this increase was directly attributable to increased fuel costs, creating a domino effect in increasing prices for other fleet-related commodities. With such a dramatic increase in cost of fuel, overall operating expenses spiked. While fuel was the driving factor behind higher operating costs, other oil-related products, such as tires and preventive maintenance, were also higher. Replacement Tires Cost More Due to rising oil and materials costs, major tire manufacturers increased base fleet tire pricing. In fact, most had multiple price increases during 2006 due to unprecedented oil costs. This increase led to an 8- to 10-percent increase in tire expense across all vehicle categories. Over the past few years, manufacturers have introduced several models with larger wheel sizes, which has contributed to overall increased tire replacement costs. Some vehicles traditional 16-inch wheels have moved to 17-inch and even 20-inch wheels on some fleet vehicles. The larger the tire, the more it costs to replace, and depending on a fleet s vehicle mix, this could substantially increase a fleet s total tire replacement expenses. However, Maintenance Costs Remain Flat Excluding fuel- and oil-related products, repair and maintenance costs for fleet vehicles have remained relatively flat. In examining overall maintenance costs, there has been a decrease across the board for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and vans. Maintenance costs have decreased enough to offset labor rate increases. There has been a decline in PM incidents as a growing number of fleets base oil drain intervals on the onboard oil-life monitoring system currently installed on GM models. During normal vehicle operation, onboard oil-life monitoring systems tend to extend oil change intervals longer than following a months-in-service or miles-driven PM schedule. This trend primarily occurs in fleets comprised of 100-percent GM products. It has not extended to mixed fleets comprised of multi-manufacturer products, since different PM schedules complicate driver communication and create an inconsistent fleet policy. There has also been a trend to extend oil drain intervals, regardless of whether a vehicle is equipped with an onboard oil monitoring system. Initial vehicle quality continues to improve a key factor influencing maintenance costs. Under-the-hood components, such as cooling, transmission, differential, spark plugs, and fuel filters now require less frequent servicing, which has led to decreased maintenance costs year-over-year. In the long-term, new-vehicle technologies are starting to create new maintenance costs. For instance, there have been early signs of increased costs to maintain the tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) installed on many fleet vehicles. The increased
costs relate to resetting the system when rotating or replacing tires. OEM systems are all unique, making it difficult for repair shops to maintain the systems. Increased fuel costs have indirectly impacted fleet maintenance. For instance, increased fuel prices elevated the price of distribution, a primary cost of getting products to market. All parts prices increased as manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers paid more to ship parts around the country. Due to higher fuel costs, towing and road service fees also increased. Many tow providers have not only increased fees, but also added fuel surcharges. As expected, high fuel-consumption vehicles, such as vans and pickup trucks, experienced higher fleet expenses in fuel, tires, and preventive maintenance than in years past. Generally, repair and maintenance expenses remained flat for vans and pickups, although fleets are keeping units in service longer. This is especially true in the service truck/van segment. Medium-Duty Truck Operating Costs Operating costs for medium-duty trucks in utility/railroad, delivery, and service company fleets increased for PM, replacement tires, repairs, and especially fuel. Although all operating expense categories witnessed an increase, the underlying cause was the increased cost of fuel. High fuel costs impacted not only the cost of the fuel itself, but all other costs associated with it. For example, rising fuel prices caused the cost of mobile fueling services to increase along with other PM costs. Truck replacement tire costs have risen. One mitigating factor is that truck tire technology is increasing tire tread life. The average tread life for a medium-duty truck hauling a maximum load is about 80,000 miles, compared to 50,000 miles 15 years ago. Common service problems for Class 3-6 trucks have been fuel and electrical systems. Fleets have seen an increased amount of electrical problems, in particular with sensors. Most of these are false alarms, but they result in truck downtime while the problem is diagnosed. Despite these service issues, overall quality for medium-duty trucks is at an all-time high. The trucks themselves are lasting longer, they are built better and offer higher quality with less warranty work. Many truck fleets pre-bought to avoid the 2007 ultra-low sulfur diesel standard, which increased the complexity of the 2007 diesel engines. Fleet managers are concerned about engine reliability, higher purchase costs, and increased maintenance expense due to more frequent oil drain intervals. New, even more stringent diesel emission standards are scheduled to commence in 2010. Modifying Truck Specs to Improve Fuel Economy Fleet managers are exploring the modification of truck specs to increase miles-per-gallon fuel economy and adopting key performance indicators to monitor drivers in an effort to curb wasteful fuel consumption. Another fleet initiative is implementing anti-idling awareness programs with drivers. Fleet managers are ordering trucks with idle cutoffs after five to 15 minutes. They are also installing telematic systems to monitor fuel usage and employing geofencing products. Fleets are also investigating the acquisition of more aerodynamic trucks and different driveline components. There has been an ongoing trend to spec automatic transmissions. In the medium-duty truck market, approximately 70 percent of trucks are spec ed with automatic transmissions for driver retention. Fifteen years ago, very few truck fleets spec ed automatic transmissions. However, as the number of new drivers who could operate a manual transmission dwindled, the shift toward automatic transmissions started. Automatic transmissions allow fleets to hire less-skilled drivers into their driver pool. However vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions have lower fuel economy. There has also been a trend to add content to medium-duty trucks, as with light-duty trucks. The reason is to increase driver retention, but it has affected operating expenses. Today, there isn t a truck without air conditioning, but air conditioning uses horsepower and fuel. Safety Moves to Front Burner Although the cost of fuel is cited as the number-one fleet challenge, fleet safety is a very close second, and, with some fleets, it s their primary challenge. One reason is the heightened influence of corporate risk departments in the area of fleet management.
For some fleets, this influence has extended into vehicle selector development. Safety and accident management are becoming greater factors in vehicle selection. For instance, these fleets base selector inclusion on NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) crash-test ratings. In fact, some fleet managers hesitate to acquire vehicles not advised by the risk department out of concern that should a safety-related issue result in an injury or fatality, they might be accused of ignoring the safety recommendation. Fleets have seen a rise in preventable accidents, caused either by driver fatigue, stress, or simply lack of concentration. Safety is an ongoing challenge for fleet managers as they struggle to minimize preventable accidents. There are other emerging safety issues such as driver distraction. Fleets are looking at tightening cell phone usage policies, and/or eliminating electronic devices in company vehicles to keep employees focused on driving. One reason for the increase in preventable accidents is that corporate fleet drivers are being asked to do more in the same allotted time. Therefore, they multi-task behind the wheel. This compromises their attention to safety, leading to increased accidents. Trends in Replacement Cycling Some companies are extending the service lives of company vehicles to reduce fleet expense. The results are strategies to minimize overall mileage during this extended period in order to assist resale. More fleets are implementing territory realignments to minimize mileage when vehicle service lives are extended. Additionally, as fuel costs have put additional strain on fleet budgets, dollars for replacement vehicles often suffer. Some fleet managers report that elements within their corporations are viewing fleet from the perspective of total spend and wondering whether it is worth the cost and benefit. In the majority of investigations, the company-provided option proves to be the cost-effective option, but not always. One prominent fleet decided that it would only provide company vehicles to its service force and shift everyone else to driver reimbursement during a multiyear transition. However, changes of this magnitude continue to be rare in the fleet industry. Driver dissatisfaction is also an emerging issue in fleet management. There is a growing demand from drivers and department/ division management for greater vehicle selection in the company selector. This is especially true with fleets that have sole-sourced for a number of years. Although bottom-line considerations will trump driver dissatisfaction, it is nonetheless becoming an emerging issue for fleet managers. Another expression of the driver dissatisfaction trend has been increased demands for exceptions to selector policy. More employees are asking for larger vehicles due to a medical condition or physical stature. These fleet managers say it is tough to balance a possible workers comp claim against not providing the proper tool to do the job. Wholesale Market for Commercial Fleet Vehicles As fuel prices stay persistently high, retail buyers are shying away from new and used sport/utility vehicles, triggering a softening of resale values in the wholesale market. Retail demand for new SUVs declined dramatically during summer 2006 by as much as 20 to 30 percent. This directly impacts fleets. If a model is hard to sell in the newvehicle retail market, it s also hard to sell in the used-vehicle market. The resale market is soft not only for large SUVs, but also mid-size SUVs. Smaller SUVs continue to do well, though not as well as a year ago. Resale prices for passenger minivans continue to be in the doldrums, as they have been for the past four years due to low consumer demand. Consumer preference has shifted from minivans to crossover vehicles. However, resale values for mid-size sedans continue to remain firm. The average price for a mid-size commercial fleet car sold at auction was just under $7,000 in 2006, an increase of 27 percent over 2003, according to Manheim Consulting. Compact cars appear to be the main beneficiaries of higher fuel prices. Prices for small cars are strong, but most fleets do not have many of those vehicles. Resale values for cargo vans and work trucks are anticipated to be strong this spring because of high demand from seasonal labor companies such as contractors and landscapers. For the remainder of 2007, analysts foresee an increased inventory of fleet vehicles in the wholesale market. The 2005-model year was a higher than normal year for fleet purchases, and these vehicles will start to enter the wholesale market in 2007. In addition, other remarketing segments will contribute to increased inventory at auctions.
For example, the volume of repossessions is increasing, retail leasing is growing, and the rental industry is acquiring more risk units, most of which will be sold at auction. Historically, higher vehicle inventories have exerted downward pressure on resale values. Greening the Corporate Fleet Many multi-national corporations have adopted a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. One area of focus is fleet. However, this overall corporate goal often conflicts with mandates to reduce fleet operating costs. Until the cost for such technologies decreases to a reasonable level, it will remain a challenge for companies to justify spending the extra cost to green up fleets. But being a good corporate citizen sometimes overrules cost considerations. Developing an environmentally friendly fleet is a big priority for the top management of these companies. They want their fleets to operate in a manner that is fiscally responsible, but at the same time environmentally friendly. Accomplishing this is a balancing act. How do you have the most efficient fleet possible and reduce GHG emissions, while also reducing fuel consumption? Fleet managers also recognize that without the refueling infrastructure, no matter how many alternative-fuel vehicles (AFV) are acquired, they will have a negligible impact on the environment if clean fuels are not readily available. This is especially apparent for nationally dispersed fleets that operate vehicles in smaller communities that lack the infrastructure to support AFVs. According to most fleet managers, hybrids do not pencil out in terms of lifecycle cost; however, many fleet managers are feeling pressure to acquire these vehicles to meet corporate green initiatives. In addition to cost, fleet managers express concern about increased downtime with hybrids. They are concerned that drivers will be required to go to a dealership to service hybrids, at least until independent repair facilities become trained to properly service them. The concern about dealerships is increased downtime due to slow turnaround. Hybrid components, such as a regenerative braking system and dual-use transmission, require specialized maintenance training that most national account vendors do not possess. Reducing Operating Expenses From Already Tight Operations Most fleet managers are already running very efficient fleet operations, so squeezing additional cost savings is becoming more difficult. However, the mantra from management is not only to manage fleet costs, but also to drive down costs. It is the difficulty to extract additional cost savings that is proving exasperating to many fleet managers. Continuing to show incremental savings is becoming more difficult when you are already running a tight ship and are doing all the right things, said one fleet manager. These fleet managers are focusing on the basics and looking at the total cost of ownership. From vehicle selection through remarketing to the ever-changing fuel variable, getting control of the total cost of ownership is crucial to this strategy. Another approach is to try to wring additional cost savings from suppliers. Fleet managers report being directed by management to continue to challenge suppliers and fleet users (drivers) to cut costs and eliminate waste. Another difficulty is enforcing policy compliance among drivers. Accident Management Trends The average cost of a fleet accident is at an all-time high due to the technology content of vehicles that must be replaced following an accident. In 2005, the average severity of a fleet claim was $1,848.36, a 3.18-percent increase over 2003. The accident management term severity is defined as the total dollars a company spends on the repair of a vehicle, which includes the cost of labor and parts, but excludes the cost of a replacement vehicle. Factors driving severity costs are: } Increased number of airbags. } Increased use of electronics. } Frequent increase in parts prices. } Increases in the price of commodities such as steel, aluminum, and oil used to manufacture parts and components. } OEMs selling more assemblies rather than individual parts. } Increased use of plastic components, which are expensive and have a greater propensity to be damaged in an accident.
Need to Replace Multiple Airbags A key reason for the increase in severity costs is the proliferation of airbags within a vehicle. Three years ago, the average car was equipped with only two airbags. Now it is not unusual to see five or even six airbags in a vehicle. This increases repair costs as airbags need to be replaced following deployment in an accident. A car with five or six airbags in it is more likely to be totaled compared to a vehicle three years ago, because repair costs are higher even though the accident damage may not be different. At a minimum, in a frontal collision, fleets must replace the driverand passenger-side airbags, along with knee airbags, which deploy at the same time. In addition, many fleets err on the side of caution and replace all airbags in the vehicle, even if they did not deploy. Three years ago, a car may have had $10,000 in damage. Today that same car, involved in the same accident, would most likely have $12,000 to $14,000 damage because of the additional airbags that deployed. In this case, because of the dollar amount, the vehicle would be totaled. More Electronics to Replace Another trend has been the migration of technology from highend vehicles to less expensive models in a manufacturer s lineup. New automotive technology is often introduced first in high-end models, which in later model-years proliferate downstream throughout the model line. Parts Prices Continue to Increase The price of replacement parts has increased over the past three years. A variety of factors are driving these price increases. One factor is the price of commodities, such as steel, aluminum, and copper. The cost of fuel is also impacting parts prices because it has increased the cost to transport parts. Also, plastic parts, which are derived from petroleum, have seen manufacturing costs increase with higher fuel prices. Likewise, the cost of paint has increased due to the higher cost of its oil content. a quarter panel is damaged, you now have to buy an integrated body side unit that contains the quarter panel. Although some manufacturers are reverting to selling individual parts, most continue to sell parts as part of modules. Total Loss Declarations are Up Another fleet accident management trend is the increase in total losses among self-insured fleets. Accident management companies report seeing an increase in the number of fleet vehicles deemed a total loss. Vehicle complexity has increased labor hours, labor rates for more specialized repair technicians, diagnosis times, and parts prices. One example of a costly component is a supplemental restraint airbag system, which can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000, depending on the severity of the accident. Many times, this pushes the repair cost over the total-loss threshold. Also, some areas of a damaged vehicle are non-repairable. For instance, if the crush zone collapses, by law in most states, it can t be repaired and requires vehicle replacement. Increased Use of PDR The use of paintless dent repair (PDR) is much more prevalent. This method of repair is becoming more prominent because of its cost-effectiveness. PDR limits the amount of vehicle downtime, keeps the structural integrity by limiting the number of parts that must be removed, and does not require refinish time. PDR has been instrumental in helping control repair costs and is the number-one reason why repair costs have not gone up as much as they could. Summary The high cost of fuel and reducing preventable accidents are the two most pressing challenges facing commercial fleet managers in 2007. Other key challenges include the struggle to continually deliver incremental cost reductions year-over-year, enhancing resale values for out-of-service fleet vehicles, and managing a larger workload with fewer resources. However, fuel and safety were, by far, the most universal challenges facing commercial fleet managers based on a survey of 240 commercial fleet managers. Another factor in rising repair costs is that manufacturers continue to sell more assemblies, rather than individual parts. When