Fleet availability is a concern that is going around the industry from the lack of inventory to other concerns going into the next year. Fleets are making new changes to be able to help them through these tough times and some may not be the best idea to maximize their business. Summit Fleet has taken the charge during this time to provide trucks to those waiting for new ones or cannot secure the needed rentals.
Vehicle Availability
The lack of inventory is a concern that has been going around the fleet management industry this year. Truck manufacturers are not producing the same numbers as they did in the previous years due to the lack of microchips being produced. Fleet managers are saying that it has been more stressful this year than it was at the start of the pandemic. Managers are struggling to keep cars in inventory as they cannot replenish the inventory with new trucks. Truck orders are extending from a max of 6 months to a max of 12 months. Trucks that were ordered in 2021 will be ready when the 2022 trucks are hitting the road. This concern is continuing to grow halfway through the year. This will have long term effects until truck manufacturers catch up on the demand. Fleet managers are having to come up with ideas to help their fleet by either extending the service of the vehicles or short cycling them on the market.
Expanding the Service of Vehicles
In order to make sure they have enough trucks available, companies are extending the lives of their trucks. For instance, the mileage of trucks is being extended by fleet managers. The risk of keeping these trucks longer is that you are doing more unplanned maintenance as the age of the truck increases. Due to the pandemic service providers are increasing prices as the demand soars in order to stay in business and thrive during this rough time. The demand has also extended the time it takes to do these repairs. That means fleets are losing money by having their trucks in the shop instead of customers using them at job sites.
Used Vehicle Market is the Best in Recent Years
If keeping vehicles longer is not an option, fleets are selling their fleet of low mileage trucks at an increased rate due to the high demand in the market. Short cycling of fleet vehicles is back as an option with the lack of inventory. Short cycling is consistently buying new inventory and replacing the old inventory. Companies are struggling to keep employees, causing the companies to put unused trucks for sale with low mileage. It is taking longer to find employees as it may take up to months to find the right candidate to fill positions. The past year has put a lot of companies in budget constraints. In order to survive in this market more companies are selling trucks that have very low mileage at a premium. These companies are being put at risk by having a very low inventory and not being able to supply to their customer base.
How is Summit Fleet Handling the Situation?
Summit Fleet has plenty of truck rental inventory and is continuing to expand the inventory halfway thru 2021. As other fleets struggle for inventory, Summit Fleet has been able to add more trucks to help companies with their truck needs. It has been hard to forecast what would happen this year. President of Summit Fleet Brian Goldhardt said, “While it has been a challenge to forecast our fleet for 2021, we were fortunate enough to estimate accurately. We ordered our trucks well in advance of the microchip shortage.” Summit Fleet has ensured trucks are available for current and new customers. There is no need to extend the lives of the trucks or short cycle the vehicles. Summit Fleet is making sure customers continue to have the best quality trucks the market has to offer.
Overall in 2021
Fleet managers have it tough for the rest of 2021. Fleet managers can resort to extending the life of the trucks or short cycling the inventory they currently have. The risk is very high, but these ideas might help fleets survive the rest of the year. Summit Fleet is ready for the challenge that this year has to offer and looks forward to providing the best trucks in the fleet industry.
Source:
https://www.automotive-fleet.com/10143695/vehicle-availability-is-no-1-issue-facing-fleet-managers
