Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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28 commercial carrier journal | may 2018 E-commerce leads to shorter hauls, more daycabs BY JASON CANNON D riven partially by the rise of e-commerce, trucking's average length of haul has fallen more than 34 percent over the last 17 years. Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking As- sociations, says the average length of haul for for-hire truckload dry van freight dropped from nearly 800 miles in 2000 to 524 miles in 2017. "In 2000, large big-box retailers had a handful of distribution centers around the country, but today they have dozens," Costel- lo says, attributing the change to online retailing's growth. "More distribution centers have reduced the average length of haul into and out of those centers," he says. "If I order something in Washington, D.C., and expect it in two days, it's not coming from California. It's coming from somewhere not too far away." Kurt Swihart, Kenworth marketing director, says he's not seen any major trends of truckload customers moving significantly into the less-than-truckload or pickup-and-delivery businesses. However, changes in the distribution model – where a grow- ing number of distribution centers outside urban areas have led to more regional-haul and final-mile routes – have prompted some fleets to review their truck specifications, Swihart says. Jim Nachtman, Navistar's on-highway marketing director, agrees. "We are starting to hear more conversations from cus- tomers on how they should spec vehicles differently," he says. Daycab dominance On-demand shipping isn't the only factor driving change. e competition for drivers – and getting them home more oen – also is changing freight patterns. Wesley Slavin, Peterbilt's on-highway marketing manager, says that while the company's customer council has noted a region- al shi in the marketplace, "manufacturing [location] hasn't moved, and the end user hasn't moved. What's happened is fewer carriers are going from dock to dock. Maybe they're dropping halfway, and another driver takes it the rest of the way." e change in traffic patterns has influenced equipment trends. According to IHS Polk, daycabs made up 27 percent of the North American market in 2008. By 2013, they reached 37 percent and now have leveled off to 39 percent in 2016 and 2017. Nachtman says about 40 percent of the trucks International now builds are daycabs, and he expects that number to continue to climb. "We do predict over 50 percent in the next few years will be daycabs," he says. Similarly, Slavin says Peterbilt's sleeper/daycab split is about 60/40 and climbing. Retaining drivers Even with more daycabs, the need to keep the driver happy remains. "We're seeing an increase in companies using the trucks as a recruiting tool," Slavin says. "at includes regional tractors." Dating back five years, Freightliner's build rate on daycabs has bounced around 30 percent, and Make McHorse, segment marketing manager, says he doesn't anticipate those numbers changing measurably until the industry is comfortable navigat- ing its way through the electronic logging device mandate. "Guys are getting trapped out on the road in kind of a regula- tory timeout," McHorse says. "[Fleets] need to have a place for drivers to stay in. You can't do that in a daycab." Stu Russoli, highway marketing manager for Mack Trucks, says no matter the type of truck, it must be driver-friendly. "If you're doing more local deliveries, I think the question then be- comes if you just need the more basic fleet-style interior, because it becomes just a tool for going from point to point," he says. Shrinking hauls also have given more momentum to auto- mated transmissions, Russoli says. "You're probably doing more backing into docks and moving around smaller parking areas, a lot more stop-and-start traffic," he says. "Most of the guys who really want a manual [transmission] are doing longer hauls." About 90 percent of new Cascadias are spec'd with an AMT, which McHorse attributes to congestion and the fatigue that comes with working a manual in stop-and-go conditions. in focus: REGIONALIZATION TRENDS EDITOR'S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING STORY IS PART 2 OF A THREE-PART SERIES ON "MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS." APRIL'S INSTALLMENT ADDRESSED ELECTRIC TRUCK ADOPTION. JUNE'S STORY WILL FOCUS ON THE LATEST MEDIUM-DUTY MODELS. A growing number of distribution centers outside urban areas have led to more final-mile routes.