We all know how difficult it can be to find reliable commercial truck drivers. There are several reasons why this is such a big problem, but the good news is there are things that you can do to help alleviate this problem and secure reliable, long-term, and successful hires.

High turnover is not only a hassle, it’s incredibly expensive and causes low morale in the workplace. You want reliable drivers, of course, but you also want to make sure they stick around for the long term.

By conducting background checks, utilizing thorough drug testing, actually checking references, and developing good relationships with your drivers, you will be able to ensure that your CDL drivers are dependable and trustworthy.

Conducting Background Checks

When conducting a background check, you should start by looking into the individual’s education and employment history. You should then branch out from direct managers and then co-workers. If there were problems, this will give you some insight into what type of employee they are likely to be for your company—even if they otherwise have very impressive qualifications.

Another great way to check a commercial truck driver’s background is by looking at the DMV records. These records will show if the driver has a history of traffic violations, accidents, moving violations, and even DUIs from non-commercial driving.

Thorough Drug Testing

According to the Department of Transportation, “all drivers must undergo drug testing regularly.” However, not all drug tests are created equal.

A random test is performed without prior warning when it’s in your company’s best interest and at any time during employment.

One important point about both types of commercial driver drug testing is that it doesn’t just include a urine test; instead, there are collection methods using saliva samples or hair follicle samples which can detect further use history than urine tests alone.

Actually Check Their References

If you want to really vet a candidate, ask for references from not only past direct managers, but also past coworkers or clients. Then, check those references as well, thoroughly confirming there’s a solid network of reliability.

Another easy and affordable way to do this is through social media sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn. You can also use tools like Google Alerts to find out if there have been any negative reports about this person in the past.

Developing Good Relationships With Your Drivers

Having an idea of the types of drivers you’re looking for is only half the battle. You’ll need to be able to attract and develop good relationships with your workers if you want them to stay with the company for more than a few months. That means asking them what they need from their job and then ensuring that those needs are met.

Here are some strategies for developing a positive relationship with drivers:

• Check-in regularly about how things are going on their end. If there’s something wrong, address it immediately so that it doesn’t become a bigger problem later on down the line. This will help prevent misunderstandings or disagreements from escalating into something much larger, saving everyone time and energy in the long run.
• Keep an open dialogue between yourself and each employee as much as possible by allowing plenty of time beforehand so that everyone has ample opportunity to contribute their opinions or suggestions—this way no one feels left out when important decisions need to be made.

By utilizing background checks, drug testing, checking references, and developing good relationships with your drivers, you will be able to ensure that your CDL drivers are reliable and trustworthy.

While taking such a thorough approach to vetting your drivers might seem burdensome and lengthen the hiring process, it’s important to keep in mind the long-term costs associated with high turnover.

Keeping your trucks in top condition is a matter of great importance to you and your business.

If you don’t have the right tires on your vehicles, it can mean trouble for both driver and truck, as well as damaged cargo. Here’s everything you need to know about choosing the best tires for your truck.

The commercial truck tire’s most important needs

You should not buy a truck tire without knowing the following:

• The tire’s load capacity
• The tire’s traction or grip on wet and dry pavement
• The tire gives a smooth ride and comfortable feel when driving on rough roads
• A good wear pattern, ensuring your tread will last longer between replacements

The different needs and uses of truck tire tread designs

Depending on the application, some truck tires are designed for hard work in tough conditions, while others are designed for smooth, paved roads. The tread pattern on these types of tires is quite different from one another, so it’s important to know what type will best suit your truck before you purchase them.

• Linehaul applications: This type of tire is designed to provide maximum traction and wear. It’s perfect for long-haul drivers who often need to keep their trucks moving in inclement weather.
• Regional applications: For limited areas of around 250 miles in urban environments with lots of starts and stops.
• Vocational application: This type of tire is designed to handle off and rough road applications. It’s perfect for trucks that are used for work purposes.
• Super Regional applications: These tires are designed to be used on both regional and linehaul applications (hub-and-spoke).

Load capacity rating

Load capacity rating is perhaps the most important number you should know about your truck tires. This number tells you how much weight your truck tire can support, but it’s more than just a theoretical statistic; it also affects how safe and comfortable your driver is while hauling. When carrying heavy loads, this is particularly important—the wrong amount of pressure in a tire can cause it to blow out, and that could result in an accident or even death.

Rib designs and Lug designs

There are two major types of truck tires: rib designs and lug designs. Rib designs have a series of grooves cut into them to help distribute weight evenly across the tire surface, while Lug designs have large treads that can grip even slippery surfaces like ice or snow. Both serve the same general purpose, but they’re often used in specific areas depending on what type of terrain you’ll be driving through.

Rib designs are generally used for dry conditions and long distances, while Lug designs are better for short trips and wet surfaces.

The right tire can help trucks operate at their best.

The tires on a truck are the only part of the vehicle that touches the road. Think of the weight they carry, and the hazards they help avoid. The right tire can help trucks operate at their best, but the wrong one can cause unnecessary wear and tear on an engine, transmission, and suspension.

Most truck tires are designed to work in different conditions. By selecting the right one, you can get the most out of your truck’s performance and lower its fuel consumption.

Whether you’re looking to improve your truck’s performance or just need to replace worn-out tires, it’s important that you choose the right ones to run a successful fleet. Truck tires are designed to work in different driving conditions, whether they’re hauling a load or not. The right tire can help trucks operate at their best, but the wrong one can cause unnecessary wear and tear on an engine, transmission, and suspension, while also increasing fuel costs.

Whether for personal use or work, every truck experiences wear and tear as time goes on. This is especially true when the vehicle is used for tough jobs requiring a lot of driving and mess which can accelerate this process. When renting trucks and vans, it’s essential to be aware of the condition of the vehicle and to know the difference between major damage and average wear and tear.

On the Outside
The outside of the truck or van includes the paint, the body, the bumpers, tires, and the glass. Average wear and tear on the outside of the vehicle can come from natural causes that aren’t related to the use of the truck itself. Proper storage can eliminate factors like rain and direct sunlight that can accelerate fading and rust.

Body and Bumpers
Minor dents 2 inches or less in diameter or scratches less than 3 inches in length are considered average wear to the body and bumpers. It’s important to note that any dent in the body of the vehicle must also not affect the panel’s structural integrity.

Glass
Average wear can look like minor scuff marks, light scratches, and a maximum of two minor chips that aren’t within the field of vision. Due to the nature of glass, these types of damage can quickly escalate to larger problems that can impede vision and become a dangerous liability. It’s important to attend to wear on glass promptly to avoid more severe issues.

On the Inside
The interior of the truck can get just as messy as the outside and routine driving will cause the mechanical parts within to experience normal wear.

Carpet, Upholstery, Dashboard Controls
Scratches, scuffs, minor stains, and dirt is expected on the inside of the vehicle, especially one used for loading and unloading or transportation between work sites. You can expect to see this on the seats, carpet, floor mats, and even the ceiling. Buttons and controls on the dashboard can fade over time with regular use, and hinges and handles for doors will begin to wear.

Trunks, Truck Beds, Cargo Areas
These are areas that are intended to experience scuffs, scrapes, fading, and weathering. Any damage that affects the structural integrity of these places is considered past average wear and tear.

Brakes
Brake lines, brake pads, shocks and struts, and springs are pieces of the system that will slow down your vehicle and bring it to a stop. Heavy loads and quick stops can cause accelerated wear and tear, leading to frequent maintenance and replacement.

Clutch and Transmission
The clutch is responsible for connecting and disconnecting the engine from the vehicle’s transmission and is an area that experiences a lot of wear and tear. You can expect to find slight wear on the clutch disc, pressure plates, and flywheel.

Cooling and Electrical
Cooling includes air conditioning and internal cooling systems like the water pump and radiator. Commonly, the average wear to a cooling system is minor rust and leaky pipes.

Electrical pieces within your vehicle like the battery, fuses, and the computer system can wear with use over time. On average, car batteries are the most common part of the electrical system to experience wear. A new battery can last up to 3 to 4 years but will need replacing when it begins to fail. Common signs include dim interior and exterior lights, corroded connectors, and an engine that is slow to start.

Overall
Renting your work fleet has many benefits that can be an asset to your financials and your quality of work. Assuring that your fleet is maintained and cared for guarantees the best outcome in the long term, and knowing what your truck’s average wear and tear is will prepare you for it.

Whether you need help with maintaining your fleet, or acquiring a new one, Efficiency Enterprises can help. Contact us today.

When deciding on which type of truck to use in your business, it’s important to know how your equipment stacks up against the alternative. Here are five points that might help you see the differences between diesel and gasoline trucks, and help you make cost-effective choices for your business.

Power. The first obvious benefit is that diesel engines have more torque at low revolutions per minute. When hauling heavy loads for long distances, getting that load moving from a full stop requires a lot of energy. As noted by Motor Trend Magazine: “Because of the relatively high compression ratio necessary to ignite the diesel fuel (17:1 diesel versus 9:1 gas), a diesel makes all its torque and power low in the rev range.” This makes a diesel truck much more efficient in transporting your cargo.

That high compression ratio leads to benefit number two: fuel efficiency. According to the National Academy of Sciences, Energy, and Medicine: “On a volume basis, diesel has a higher energy content, called heat of combustion, and higher carbon content than gasoline; thus, on a per gallon basis diesel produces almost 15 percent more [energy].” This can help offset differences in cost at the pump when added to the power gains listed above and to the third benefit on our list, which is:

Better fuel economy. A diesel engine can be 25 to 35 percent more fuel efficient than a gasoline engine of comparable size. This is due to the higher energy density and thermal efficiency of diesel fuel, as well as to the fact that diesel engines work at lower RPMs than gasoline engines. This in turn leads to our fourth benefit.

Due both to the efficiency of the fuel and the tougher construction of the engine itself, diesel engines are more reliable than comparable gasoline engines. The engine parts that handle fuel combustion are made stronger than those of gas engines to handle higher compression requirements. This makes breakdowns less frequent. In turn, this helps keep schedules, saves money on labor costs and reimbursements due to stranded drivers and repair delays, helps assure deliveries are completed promptly, and generally removes complications both for truck owners and renters.

The Environmental Side
The final perk provided by diesel trucks is safety. Diesel fuel is combustible at a much higher temperature, and thus far less volatile, than gasoline. The engines don’t ignite the fuel by sparking it, but by compressing the fuel until it ignites. Stored fuel is less of a safety hazard, and trucks using this fuel are safer in the event of an accident, even an accident that results in some fuel spillage. This means that nearby vehicles and facilities where trucks are parked are at a lower risk of collateral damage.

In addition, diesel fuel does not need toxic additives to prevent engine knock, since diesel engines do not use a spark plug system to ignite the fuel. Many gasoline-fueled trucks of comparable capabilities can require 100 octane fuel, and much of this fuel is still using a lead additive. Modern diesel engines also require DEF (diesel exhaust fluid), which removes nitrous oxide from the exhaust stream of the truck. The truck itself doesn’t mechanically require the DEF, but modern trucks are equipped with a regulator switch which requires that the DEF system is filled before the truck can be operated, ensuring that emissions are controlled. This means diesel trucks are much less environmentally harmful than gasoline-fueled trucks on a relative basis.

We hope that this list of advantages helps in your decision-making process. If you need help with your fleet growth or vehicle acquisitions let Efficiency do the heavy lifting for you! Contact us today.

Managers are always looking for ways to bring down fleet operation costs and make their businesses more efficient. Luckily there are easy, cost-effective ways to bring down fleet costs while also improving the longevity and safety of your trucks.

1. Proper Driver Training

The easiest way to bring down fleet costs is to invest in training your drivers in fuel-efficient driving practices. Bring in defensive driving instructors to teach your drivers to drive slowly and cautiously. Instigate penalties to discourage aggressive driving, which can cost you up to a dollar per mile on some trucks. Multiplied across your entire fleet, driver training can make a big difference for your bottom line.

2. Carefully Monitor Tire Pressure

 Tire pressure can have a very large impact on your fleet’s fuel economy. The farther away from the manufacturer’s recommended PSI your tires are, the less fuel-efficient your vehicles will be. Weekly or daily checks can ensure that you are staying within the ranges recommended by tire manufacturers.

3. Run Vehicles in Shifts

Every driver does not need their own vehicle. Having your fleet vehicles operating in a morning and afternoon shift reduces the number of vehicles you need to operate while increasing fuel economy (reduces fuel used on startup and warm-up, especially in colder climates). If you move to a shift system, be aware that increased run time on vehicles will lead to slightly increased maintenance costs.

4. Reduce Miles Driven 

The fewer miles your vehicles cover, the less fuel and maintenance they will require. Investing in a quality fleet vehicle tracking and maps software can greatly reduce miles driven by avoiding inefficient routing. The better organized your fleet is, the more efficient it will be.

5. Lower the Cost of Your Fuel

Research the different company fuel cards that you give to your drivers. Depending on the company you get your cards from, you can receive discounts on fuel and other benefits that will help you reduce costs. Several cards will give you as much as 0.15$ off a gallon which can add up to big savings when multiplied by the size of your fleet.

6. Consider the Lifecycle of Your Vehicles 

 Often companies will mandate to keep vehicles in service for longer than they are operationally viable to avoid the cost of buying new vehicles. This increases overall fleet costs because as vehicles get older their maintenance costs will increase exponentially. New vehicles will require less maintenance and will have better fuel economy, making getting the lifecycle of your vehicles right a top priority for reducing fleet costs.

7.  Consider Resale Value

When buying fleet vehicles, consider what will allow you the best resale value. The easiest way to ensure a higher resale value is to buy trucks in neutral or high-demand colors. White vehicles are proven to have the highest resale value of any color. Keeping detailed maintenance records that can be provided to potential buyers is also proven to ensure a higher resale value.

8. Buy or Rent Vehicles in Volume 

Buying or renting your fleet vehicles in volume allows you to negotiate a lower price per vehicle than if you were to buy vehicles in smaller groups or individually. Volume purchasing requires good forecasting of your business’s needs and requires more capital, so make sure you are prepared before attempting to buy in volume.

Decreasing the operating cost of your fleet is a great way to make your business more efficient and increase profits. Implementing any of the simple solutions provided above will go a long way to making your fleet safer and more cost-effective. Let Efficiency find the best solution for your business!

Despite their many benefits, fleet vehicles can be a headache for business owners.

Fleet vehicles are an excellent way to improve the speed and efficiency of transportation and other company logistics, but they can also have hidden costs associated with them. Managing a vehicle fleet is a balancing act of price and value that needs to be monitored closely to ensure the success of your business.

Fuel

Fuel is likely going to be the biggest expenditure associated with any fleet of vehicles. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average vehicle consumes about 684 gallons of gasoline each year. That can add up quickly if you have a large fleet of trucks or vans. Since it’s not something you can control, tracking fuel consumption will allow you to determine how much fuel was used for each vehicle and what the average cost per mile is. This data will help you make informed decisions about how much to budget for gasoline.

Employee Wages

Driver wages are an important consideration when overseeing a fleet of logistical vehicles. A lot of companies will use a driver wage calculator to determine the value of their drivers, but that may vary based on a number of factors from location to productivity level.

Many companies have started to use telematics solutions to monitor the performance of their fleets, which enables them to keep track of how much fuel is being used by each vehicle and how many miles are being driven by each driver. This allows them to get a more accurate idea of what kind of salary they need to pay each individual employee in order to keep their fleet running smoothly.

Maintenance and Repair

The cost of maintaining and repairing large fleets of vans or trucks can be very costly. This is especially true when you consider that the ripple effects of a single-vehicle malfunction can affect your entire fleet. When you’re responsible for multiple vehicles, the costs associated with each breakdown rapidly add up. That’s why it’s important to monitor your mechanic fees and make sure they’re not getting out of control.

If you find yourself paying for more frequent repairs than usual, this could indicate that something needs to be replaced or repaired sooner than expected—and those costs will compound quickly. The price of parts alone can tally up fast, especially if you need to restore an entire engine or transmission. Plus, there are also labor charges to consider, along with the toll of downtime while repairs are being made.

Procurement of Replacement Vehicles

Fleet vehicle replacement is incredibly expensive. For example, if you have ten trucks and wish to upgrade them, you can expect to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars. This cost includes the price of the actual vehicles, along with any necessary upgrades and repairs that need to be made before they can be put into service.

Thankfully, fleet vehicle purchases can come with bulk rebates, discounts, or other special offers. These may help lower the overall price of the vehicle in order to make it more affordable for your company.

Insurance Coverage

When you’re in charge of a fleet of vehicles, you want to make sure they are properly insured. This can be a challenge because it’s hard to predict what will happen, making it difficult to know what type of coverage to get. You should always make sure that your insurance policy covers any vehicles that are part of your fleet.

The best way to do this is to get a commercial auto policy from your current provider, or with another provider if necessary. This type of policy will cover all kinds of damage and liability that might happen while an employee is driving one of your fleet trucks. It will also cover any injuries caused by accidents involving these vehicles.

Efficiency Enterprises can help you with your fleet planning and management. Let us be your partner and do the heavy lifting for you! Contact us today for your consultation.

Vehicle replacement is an essential measure of fleet management, and a clear and concise schedule is necessary for budgeting, planning maintenance, and more.

It’s very important to upgrade your fleet vehicles at certain premeditated intervals in order to preserve the safety of your entire fleet while preventing excessive downtime that can affect productivity. Thankfully, tools like automated fleet management software can track and analyze maintenance and service records for every vehicle in operation, ensuring optimal vehicle use and preventing accidents caused by poorly maintained vehicles.

Reduce Costs

It costs money to replace vehicles as they become damaged, outdated, or obsolete. The average fleet truck is in service for about nine years, with increasing maintenance fees as they age. Over time, your vehicle maintenance plan may start to fall behind or accrue unexpected expenses. It’s not uncommon for companies to keep their vehicles in service until they can’t run anymore—with the assumption that it will be frugal.

Poor or nonexistent replacement strategies result in long-term operating costs that are above industry standards because the repair fees necessary to keep an older truck or van running can be outrageous. To save money, you need to monitor past data and determine the correct time to replace your fleet’s vehicles. By waiting too long to update your fleet, it ends up costing more money than if you had planned ahead and swapped the cars during a determined interval.

Represent Your Image Positively

Outdated or damaged vehicles misrepresent the images of both your company and its products or services. When people see your company logo on a fleet of trucks or vans, they should understand that you are dedicated to investing in your business and providing a great experience for your customers and employees. Don’t let your drivers risk their lives, or your reputation, by driving obsolete trucks that have a good chance of breaking down.

More Predictability

Having a solid fleet replacement plan is an excellent way to prevent unpleasant scheduling and financial surprises. By creating replacement schedules based on fleet usage, businesses can plan and budget for associated expenses. Analyzing previous data will allow companies to have a better idea of future fees associated with their trucks or vans.

By following a routine service schedule, fleet vehicle operators can reduce unanticipated malfunctions and other unforeseen problems. When vehicles are used without routine maintenance and regular rests, breakdowns are more likely to occur and cause equipment downtime.

Incentives

Using incentives to your advantage is a wise decision for many businesses. Logistical and purchasing departments will often negotiate for replacement vehicles to be purchased in bulk each year. It is important to shop around for all of your available options to get the best deal.

Not only will you qualify for numerous dealer and manufacturer rebates, but there is often a large pool of funds from which you could draw money to subsidize the cost of your vehicles. Incentives can help you save thousands on each vehicle, potentially adding hundreds of thousands to your bottom line over the next several years.

Improved Safety

By periodically resupplying your fleet with newer vehicles, you are demonstrating to your customers that you’re serious about safety and security. You’re showing them that you care about the security of your employees and that you want to provide them with the most modern, advanced vehicles available.

Older vehicles may not be equipped to meet federal standards set forth by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or other agencies that regulate vehicle safety. Newer vehicles are safer, more fuel-efficient, and comply with state regulations for emissions control, fuel efficiency, and safety features such as airbags, seatbelts, and anti-lock brakes (ABS).

Trust Efficiency to take care of your fleet needs! Schedule a consult with our team today to find the best fit for your business.

When it comes to running their business, many people bring the same mindset they grew up with to that firm. One of those preconceived ideas is often that buying is always better than renting. The truth is, however, that in many cases renting beats buying. This is particularly true in the case of a business that runs a fleet of trucks.

With Renting Comes More Flexibility 

If a business is cyclical and its projects are varied in size and often come with different requirements, renting offers a much more flexible solution. Renting will allow the firm to use the trucks it needs when it needs them. And when the project is over, those trucks won’t have to be stored and maintained while waiting for the next similar project to come along. The same principle applies to e.g. delivery vehicles. When a business works with an experienced rental firm it will be able to customize its transport needs on a per-project basis to only pay for what it needs. The cost savings involved in that alone is often enough reason to choose to rent your fleet over buying.

Reduced Maintenance, Insurance, And Storage Costs 

Renting trucks and other vehicles shifts most or all of the maintenance burden to the rental firm. Depending on the contract, maintenance can be partly or fully the responsibility of the rental company. This includes everything from routine services to attending to roadside breakdowns a thousand miles away. Plus the rental firm takes care of insuring those vehicles.

Another direct benefit of this is that the rental firm takes care of recruiting and carrying the cost of maintenance staff. There is no longer any need for the client to employ a team of technicians that are not always fully utilized.

When a company owns a fleet of vehicles, it also has to make provisions for storing them. If this is done on-site it will require a large capital investment plus long-term maintenance costs. Alternatively, the company will have to rent storage space from a third party, which can be very expensive. With renting a fleet that responsibility is of course transferred to the fleet rental firm.

Renting Makes It Much Easier To Update Your Fleet 

When a business buys its own vehicles, those vehicles will sooner or later have to be replaced or the issue of unscheduled breakdowns will start rearing its ugly head. Some firms follow a staggered approach, i.e. they replace a percentage of their vehicles every year or two. Others base the decision on the truck or other vehicle’s mileage.

Another reason fleets often have to be updated is the need for new equipment and features. Technology is changing rapidly and if a new contract comes along that requires the most technologically advanced features it could force your company to either make a huge investment or lose the deal.

Rental firms regularly update their fleets to make sure they always have the latest vehicles in stock. They typically replace their trucks, delivery vehicles, etc., after six months or a year to ensure that their fleets always offer what their clients need.

Renting Your Fleet Means No More Idle Vehicle Costs 

Vehicles that are sitting idle will still cost their owners money. The list here includes fuel that goes bad, seals that deteriorate, routine maintenance, fluids that have to be replaced, and tires that start rotting and cracking – particularly if the vehicle is standing outside in the sun.

Vehicles that are not garaged or covered can also suffer damage in the form of plastic and dashes that crack and become brittle, fading paint, etc.

A business that rents its fleet can focus on its core business activities while the rental firm takes care of vehicles. Looking to expand your fleet or perhaps you’re just getting started? Trust Efficiency to take care of the hard work for you! Contact us today!

There is a good reason why so many businesses use vehicle wraps, and more specifically truck wraps, to market their products and services.

Based on research carried out by the OAAA (Outdoor Advertising Association of America) this is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business. Let us take a closer look at how truck wraps can be used to generate impressions for your business.

Truck Wraps Reach A Wide Audience 

According to OAAA data, a single truck wrap is able to generate anything from 30,000 to 80,000 impressions (views) every day, depending on the size and population of the city where your trucks are being used. The OAAA also recently stated that vehicle wraps can be used to reach no less than 95 percent of Americans.

Truck Wraps Are Memorable 

In a poll conducted by Cox Communications among millennials (people between the ages of 18 and 34) a while ago, it came to light that nearly half (47%) of this very important market segment find vehicle wraps easy to remember. In other words, you won’t be paying for advertising that most people will forget within the next 5 minutes.

Truck Wraps Are Among The Most Cost-Effective Ways Of Advertising 

The return on investment should always be an important factor to consider when choosing from among the many different marketing options. The reality here is that, when it comes to the cost per 1,000 impressions, truck wraps are hard to beat. According to research recently carried out by Arbitron, Inc., the cost of truck wraps starts at about $0.35 for every 1,000 impressions. Most other options are much more expensive. Outdoor signage will, for example, cost a business around $3.56 for every thousand impressions. The cost of radio advertising is more than double that at around $7.75/1,000. And when it comes to television advertising, the cost is about three times higher than radio at $23.70 for every thousand impressions.

Truck Wraps Are Perfect To Reach A Local Market 

Let’s face it: with nearly any other form of advertising your business will be paying to reach, not only its target audience, but also many people who will never become customers because they simply live too far away. Truck wraps don’t suffer from that shortcoming. If your trucks are moving around in a specific area, its people most likely form part of your target market. And they can easily and cost-effectively be reached with eye-catching truck wrap ads.

Truck Wraps Are Less Invasive Than Many Other Forms Of Advertising 

With many other forms of advertising, the potential customer is busy doing something else and your advertisement interrupts whatever he or she is doing. They might actually find your ad so intrusive that they subconsciously block it from memory. Truck wraps, on the other hand, do not interrupt anybody’s journey. Because they are part of the traffic scenery, they blend in more seamlessly. Yet, as we have seen above, their messages tend to linger longer in the minds of viewers.

Looking to add truck advertising to your marketing plans? Let Efficiency handle the design, installation and tracking for you! Contact us today.

If there is one important point of which fleet managers should never lose sight it’s that fleet management costs are not fixed, they are variable. This includes the types of vehicles in your fleet, the costs of supplies and parts, and even other factors that can impact fleet maintenance costs, such as the weather and road conditions. It’s crucial to know the difference between fixed and variable costs if you want to control expenses and introduce practices that will help to limit costs. The following steps will go a long way to help fleet managers who want to improve control over their fleet maintenance costs.

Reduce The Number Of Vehicles In Your Fleet

With better route planning, improved driver utilization, and rescheduling deliveries and pickups more efficiently, it should be possible to do the same work with a smaller fleet. This is the only surefire way to reduce fleet maintenance costs. Do not, however, cut down the fleet size to such an extent that it forces drivers to drive unsafely because they have to rush everywhere they go. The focus should be on better planning. 

Set Up And Adhere To Fleet Maintenance Programs

Scheduling fleet maintenance results in better cost predictability and enables fleet owners to plan properly because they know the intervals between services, shop space, tools, technicians, and parts that will be needed. This improves the quality of work, boosts workshop productivity, and reduces costs. 

Instructions should take the form of checklists that clearly set out the work that has to be carried out, taking into account driver reports and the data from onboard telematics systems.

Make Sure Your Vehicles Always Take The Shortest Possible Routes

If you don’t use GPS routing in your company’s fleet, you are losing out on an important way to help control fleet maintenance costs. This technology used real-time traffic information to calculate the quickest possible route to the driver’s destination. Not only does this save time, but it also saves fuel, and reduces wear and tear on the vehicle. This in turn has a direct impact on repairs costs and depreciation.

Ensure That Parts Inventory Is Effectively Optimized

Properly optimizing parts inventory can help bring about significant cost savings. With the proper parts being available whenever they are needed, technicians will be able to do their work more efficiently and without unnecessary waiting times. If your firm already employs a fleet maintenance program, making sure the right part is available at the right time will help to reduce the time vehicles spend in the workshop. This will in turn reduce labor costs and vehicle downtime, both of which are important elements of fleet maintenance costs.

Replace Vehicles When They Reach A Certain Age

There comes a stage in every vehicle’s lifetime that driving it will cost more than the higher cost of replacing it with a newer one. When a vehicle starts to require above-average repairs and its fuel consumption increases significantly (very common with older vehicles), it is most likely no longer financially justifiable to keep it in your fleet. With the help of financial forecasting, you should develop rules to decide when a vehicle should be replaced and what it should be replaced with.

Get Rid Of Unnecessary Loads

Fuel is one of the biggest costs of running a fleet. and carrying unnecessary materials or equipment can significantly increase fuel usage. Make sure only the equipment the workers need for a particular job is carried onboard any vehicle. Train the workers to always remove equipment used at a previous task before proceeding to the next one. This specifically refers to heavy tools and equipment. The additional drag caused by an empty roof rack can, for example, increase fuel consumption by as much as 30%.

Want to get the most out of your fleet? Trust the experts at Efficiency! Contact us today for your free evaluation.

The production of Class 8 trucks is showing some signs of improvement, but freight truck production won’t truly rebound until well into 2023, most experts are saying. COVID 19 has caused an assortment of issues in the OEM markets, and these issues have been further compounded as new variants have cropped up all over the world, leading to further shutdowns and labor shortages. The demand for Class 8 trucks and freight trailers has not gone down; quite the contrary, it has grown significantly. However, the industry has never fully recovered from the original COVID 19 lockdowns, and new lockdowns and infection rates of the Delta and Omicron variants have continued to put the OEMs further and further behind.

Labor and Parts Shortages

Despite the demand, many OEMs have had to place significant caps on the orders, as the fulfillment of orders has been difficult for the previous years. Many companies had to resort to laying off and furloughing employees at the start of the pandemic, and many of those employees have not returned. Don Ake, FTR Vice President of Commercial Vehicles, stated that “suppliers need workers desperately.” While there are shortages in truck components, specifically semiconductors, improving the supply of parts will not necessarily lead to drastically improved production. Ake continues by stating, “even if the semiconductor issue was solved on the Class 8 side, you still wouldn’t be able to get up to maximum production.” Labor shortages are affecting many industries across the globe, and freight truck production is no less a victim of this than any other industry.

The lack of parts, specifically semiconductors, is still a major issue, though. Countries like Malaysia and Japan, major producers of the vital component, have experienced new lockdown protocols and have been ravaged by intense infection rates of the newer COVID variants. Further compounding the issue is the fact that semiconductor production focused more so on household goods as trucks were taken off the road with new national and state limitations on travel. With both production of the necessary components down, and with the reallocating of where the parts go, this has led OEMs to begin making ‘red tag units’, trucks and trailers made without certain components. However, even with some of these corners being cut, the production of trucks is still running at a deficit of over ten thousand, with trailers only doing slightly better.

Optimism for 2023

There is some reason for optimism on the horizon, though. FTR projects that nearly two hundred and seventy-five thousand Class 8 trucks will hit the market this year, possibly rising to three hundred and thirty-five thousand. 2023 should see the largest increase in production, with estimates of Class 8 trucks breaking three hundred and fifty thousand and higher. Again, Ake speculates that “this is going to keep the OEM build rates elevated into 2023 and maybe into 2024.” He clarifies, though, that, “we’re in catch-up mode and we’re going to be in catch-up mode for a while.”

Despite the labor shortages and the bottle-necking of production caused by a lack of components, there is reason to be hopeful for the future of freight production. After all, the decrease in production that the industry has seen over the last couple of years is not from lack of demand, but rather from lack of production ability. As the component industries start producing at their usual rates, and as workers begin to return to the industry, the demand to get Class 8 trucks and trailers on the roads will be staggering. Most industry experts are pointing to some time into 2023 as the point where these shortages will be fixed.

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Diesel fuel is far more economic than gasoline when utilized properly. On a fundamental level, it packs more of a “punch” per gallon than gasoline does. There is one exception to this; those who more frequently drive inner-city will not benefit from diesel, even when these tips are used to their fullest potential.

Categorically, there are two main principles to adhere to if you want to save as much money on diesel fuel as you possibly can. One is equipment maintenance and the other is user-consciousness.

Equipment Maintenance

No matter what you drive, you should always be sure to check your equipment frequently to ensure that the vehicle is running as efficiently as possible. To maximize your fuel economy, you’ll want to be certain to keep an eye on some specific details.

• Tire Pressure & Tread

At first glance, it may not seem like something as menial as a few PSI can make a difference in your fuel economy but over a distance and period, it will become apparent.

Low tire pressures cause your tires to spread their surface area wider, subsequently gripping more of the road, causing your vehicle to have to work harder to pull itself.

The same concept governs the reason you wouldn’t want the wrong tread on your tires. If you drive in warm climates but equip your vehicle with tread designed for winter conditions, this can cause a noticeable drop in fuel economy.

• Suspension

If something doesn’t feel quite as it should as you drive, there’s a fair chance that you’re right. Something as subtle as a pull to one side can mean the difference in saving money or burning it up.

User-Consciousness 

It’s not always easy to make discernable choices that will benefit a specific aspect of your vehicle. However, if some of these simple tips can be made into habits, you’ll see a noteworthy jump in your overall fuel economy.

• Resist The Air Conditioner

This is one of those hard habits to break. You start to feel a little toasty and instinct kicks in for you to crank up the AC. The only issue is that air conditioning can affect your fuel efficiency far more than you might realize.

This isn’t to say that if it’s over a hundred degrees you should force yourself to suffer a heat stroke for a few extra MPG. Simply be mindful of the instinct to overuse the AC.

• Slow Acceleration

Make an effort to gain speed at a slower pace. It’s okay to have time between your gear shifts, you’re not racing anyone on the express way. Punching your throttle can drastically eat away at your fuel efficiency. Sacrifice the little bit of excitement you feel when powering through gears; your vehicle will thank you.

• Cruise Control

This is one of the single greatest innovations in automotive technology since antilock braking systems. For long-distance driving, you want to fluctuate your speed as minimally as possible. Therefore, cruise control can help alleviate the need for you to focus too hard on your speeds.

Be mindful of your attentiveness while utilizing cruise control, however. Taking that one task away from your conscious mind can be a slippery slope into becoming complacent behind the wheel.

• Turn The Vehicle Off

Contrary to popular belief, unless you’re stopping for less than a minute, it doesn’t pay to leave the vehicle running. The longer your vehicle is running, the more fuel economy you’re losing.

• Shore Power

When stopping for the evening or taking breaks at truck stops, use their 120v hookups and turn off your engine. If you have any electronic appliances or anything else that runs on a 120v, that is more than enough of a reason to use the shore power feature.

• Lower Your Average Speed

Every mile per hour over fifty-five that you average will cost you in fuel economy. Sure you want to save time but if fuel is any concern to you whatsoever, then it’s a valuable piece of information to have.

• Stop Less

The less you have to come to complete stops, the more you save on fuel. This can translate in many ways, from anticipating traffic lights to following those vehicles in front of you at a wide distance.

Any amount of complete stops you can shave from your trip will save you valuable fuel economy.

• It’s All Downhill

Similar to the idea of not hammering the throttle or forcing your vehicle to overwork; when you stop at truck stops or anywhere else for that matter, stop at the crest of hills if you can help it.

This helps you to alleviate unneeded throttling because you can coast to regain much-needed momentum so that you can get up to speed without using the throttle.

Less throttle = better fuel economy!