Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/426899
EQUIPMENT: LOW-TECH TRUCKS industry's service and support network, which already is struggling with a crippling technician shortage (see CCJ No- vember 2014). There already are not enough technicians at either fleets or dealerships to handle repairs, and the few that are there are unprepared to deal with new vehicle systems coming online – especially computing and software issues. Finally, fleet managers say, there is the issue of durability. "I talk to owner-operators leased to our fleet all the time," says Margret Hogg, general manager of Toronto-based J.G. Drapeau, a long-haul hazmat fleet. "They all drive beauti- ful old trucks that are dependable day in and day out. They don't want anything to do with all these new technologies because they run trucks that work when they need them to." Hogg believes vehicle reliability has never been lower than it is today. "We still have a 2002 model in our fleet that is far more dependable than a comparable 2012 model," she says. "We've only had six major repairs with the '02 truck since we got it. In contrast, the '12 model has already had 11 major breakdowns. That's not an isolated event, either." Another Midwestern fleet manager says that while his fleet has purchased new tractors this year and will purchase more in 2015, those new trucks will be glider kits. "We've left our OEM supplier completely," says the man- ager, who wished to remain anonymous. "We just got tired of having breakdowns. Usually those breakdowns were noncrit- ical items. Something in the electrical system would go bad – a sensor, most of the time – and the computer just won't let the truck run. Then it took forever and cost a fortune to get the truck repaired and back on the road. We're sick of it. Gliders are simpler trucks, and they're more affordable, too. I can't see us buying new trucks again anytime soon." Reverse innovation More than five years ago, Sandeep Kar, global director of commercial vehicle research for industry analysts Frost & Sullivan, first postulated the rise of cheaper, simpler truck designs to counter today's high-tech models. "We've seen this before in the U.S. auto industry," Kar says. "In the 1960s and '70s, U.S. automakers thought they had the perfect size and de- sign for passenger cars. Then Toyota attacked, and all those designs were obsolete in an astoundingly short period of time. It is possible the same thing could happen in the U.S. commercial vehicle market today." But, Kar says, for all the grumbling about truck prices and technology, the fact remains that new commercial vehicles in North America are the most efficient the world has seen. "It is easy to forget that all this new technology in the spot- light has very real benefits for fleets today," he says. "These trucks are the most environmentally friendly and most fuel- efficient in history. They are also safer and allow drivers to be more comfortable and productive." At the same time, he says, drivers in long-haul applica- tions are more connected, and resale values never have been higher. "There are fleets that are leveraging all this technol- ogy to make more money." Still, Kar says, the advent of lower-cost trucks remains a distinct possibility – particularly in medium-duty markets. "It is possible we may see a 'reverse innovation' process take place." Kar says that several major players in the North American commercial vehicle market – notably Volvo and Daimler – Owner-operators leased to Toronto-based long- haul hazmat fleet J.G. Drapeau prefer older trucks they believe are more dependable, says Margret Hogg, general manager. COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2014 55 Seattle-based Rainier Truck and Chassis is the first outside component assembler to market its line of low-tech Class 4-7 cabover models in North America.