{"id":13094,"date":"2022-01-22T18:44:32","date_gmt":"2022-01-22T17:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=13094"},"modified":"2022-01-22T18:44:32","modified_gmt":"2022-01-22T17:44:32","slug":"fleets-61","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2022\/01\/22\/fleets-61\/","title":{"rendered":"Private fleets value customer service, stability during unstable times"},"content":{"rendered":"

After weathering the uncertainty around the pandemic, the corporations running private trucking fleets have set themselves up with more safety technology, loyal drivers, and more control of their services, according to the annual NPTC benchmarking survey.<\/p>\n

Customer service, safety, efficiency, and stability are helping private fleets retain drivers and keep corporate costs down during the unstable conditions and limited capacity created over the past year. The National Private Truck Council<\/a> published its annual benchmarking survey of its members, which helps private fleets across the country enhance their operational performances.<\/p>\n

The annual NPTC benchmarking survey of its members establishes a \u201cdashboard of national standards to measure, monitor, and improve performance,\u201d Tom Moore, EVP of education for NPTC, said during a press briefing on the 2021 study, which included insights from 112 companies that run private fleets.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor an operation like us, the participants in this particular benchmark study are probably the most like in operations to us, which make for the most meaningful comparisons and insights that are the most relevant to our business,\u201d Mari Roberts, Frito-Lay\u2019s<\/a> VP of transportation, said during the Nov. 16 briefing. Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, is the third largest private fleet in the U.S. (according to the 2021 FleetOwner 500<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cService is one of the main reasons companies operate a private fleet\u2014we still pride ourselves on service,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWhat was astonishing for me was that 80% of private fleets are measuring service within a 10-, 15-, 30-, or 60-minute delivery window. That\u2019s pretty impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
National Private Truck Council<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>
The top customer service metrics used by private fleets, according to the 2021 NPTC benchmarking survey. Editor’s note: 2020 data is marked “2021,” for the year it was collected; “2020” reflects 2019 data.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Measuring on-time performance is the primary way private fleets track customer service, according to the NPTC study. But other metrics\u2014such as late and early deliveries, safety scores, customer comments, cost per mile\u2014are growing in acceptance. Surveyed private fleets report that on-time delivery performance is a matter of individual customer expectations. What is essential is the ability to measure, monitor, and manage on-time performance through the nearly universal implementation of onboard technology.<\/p>\n

Roberts said that seeing those numbers was a good way for Frito-Lay to reevaluate measuring service internally and set its future \u201cservice agenda.\u201d Customer expectations have changed in recent years, Roberts explained. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a shorter lead time. We have smaller delivery windows. And we have expectations around track-and-trace capability. Those have all been new developments over the last few years that have started to become more expectations from external customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Private fleet benefits<\/h3>\n

St. Joseph, Missouri-based Hillyard<\/a>, a cleaning products company, has used the annual benchmarking survey to help it track its costs and grow its driver pool, according to Chuck Amen, Hillyard\u2019s transportation operations manager.<\/p>\n

Hillyard runs a private fleet that delivers to its 24 corporate-owned locations and other independent distributors throughout the lower 48 states. The fleet has participated in the NPTC benchmarking survey for more than a decade. Amen said it\u2019s a lot of detailed work to participate in the survey, \u201cyet it\u2019s kind of fun to do\u2014it\u2019s especially fun to see how you compare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A few years ago, Hillyard adapted the NPTC study into its operations so the private fleet could track its work on a monthly and rolling-12-month basis tied to its financials. \u201cBy doing this, we were able to see not only where we were but where we are and in which direction we\u2019re headed,\u201d Amen said.<\/p>\n

This internal benchmarking has shown the value of having a private fleet, Amen said. Knowing the private fleet\u2019s delivery cost, how backhauls helped reduce empty miles and contribute revenue, and, most importantly, Amen said, it showed \u201cthe savings the private fleet has over outsourcing.”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
National Private Truck Council<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>
\nThe percentage of private fleets running empty backhauls, according to the 2021 NPTC benchmarking survey. Editor’s note: 2020 data is marked “2021,” for the year it was collected; “2020” reflects 2019 data, and so on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe do have a for-hire authority, so we keep our trucks loaded coming home,\u201d Amen added. \u201cBut we\u2019re running around 15% empty miles\u2014so most of the time, we\u2019re loaded.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This year, private fleet managers continue to improve productivity by incorporating backhaul strategies to reduce the number of nonproductive empty miles. Reversing a two-year increase in the number of empty miles, in 2020, the empty mileage of 26% was down from 2019\u2019s 33.3% and 2018\u2019s 28.4%.<\/p>\n

More than a third of all the challenges private fleets reported in the 2021 study were driver-related. The NPTC benchmark points to an aging driver population, driver recruiting, driver turnover, driver hiring, driver retention, and the general driver shortage as obstacles to productivity.<\/p>\n

Hillyard, however, has \u201cbeen fortunate the last few years that we\u2019ve been at capacity on drivers,\u201d Amen said. \u201cBut earlier this year, we had some quality applicants come to us, and we wanted to figure out how we could bring those individuals on board. So, once again, we went to the benchmark. We plugged in our fixed costs, our variable costs, the costs of renting additional equipment, and hiring personnel. We were able to find that it was very beneficial for us to go ahead and grow. So that\u2019s what we were able to do at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amen said the NPTC benchmarking survey had shown his company the value of running a private fleet and growing that fleet. As capacity has tightened in the trucking industry the past two years, \u201cfor Hillyard, it\u2019s been a very good two years. So being able to show the benefit of maintaining and growing the private fleet was really great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
National Private Truck Council<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"More<\/div>\n<\/div>
\nMore than 75% of private fleets surveyed plan to grow over the next five years, according to the 2021 NPTC benchmark survey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hillyard isn\u2019t alone in its growth. More than 75% of private fleets surveyed in 2021 expect their fleets to grow by adding more equipment and\/or freight over the next five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cChuck talked about growth\u2014and it\u2019s all relative,\u201d Frito-Lay\u2019s Roberts said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I love about NPTC\u2014whether you have one truck, 10 trucks, 100 trucks, or 1,000 trucks\u2014a lot of the insights in the best practice sharing are valuable. We are looking to grow our private fleet, and you\u2019ll hear a lot of companies say they\u2019re going to hire X amount of drivers, which is different than growing. A lot of us have to hire to maintain that turnover that we just looked at. But we\u2019re looking to grow our fleet by 25% over the next few years. I have a target of plus-500 to our base by 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technology adoption<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
National Private Truck Council<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"More<\/div>\n<\/div>
More private fleets are embracing active safety technologies each year, according to the NPTC benchmarking study. Editor’s note: 2020 data is marked “2021,” for the year it was collected; “2020” reflects 2019 data, etc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Another growth within the industry is in technology. For example, back in 2014, only 9% of private fleets used cab cameras. By the 2021 study, it was up to 69% of private fleets using cab cameras. \u201cBy a factor of two-to-one, fleets report installing both forward-facing and driver-facing options,\u201d the study finds.<\/p>\n

Active safety technologies are essential to the Frito-Lay fleet, Roberts said. \u201cWe always want to continue to invest in all the leading safety technologies to make our drivers safer,\u201d she said. \u201cThe safety culture is probably the thing that I’m the proudest of about our organization. Being able to keep up with the trends and seeing what everybody else is working on is helpful in addition to the environmental strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safety technology has been standard on Penske\u2019s rental fleet for years, according to Jim Lager, SVP of sales for Penske Truck Leasing<\/a>, which sponsored the NPTC report. \u201cOur logistics fleets had it for over a decade\u2014whatever the latest technology is\u2014and we\u2019re starting to move that way on medium-duty and some other things,\u201d he said. \u201cI think everybody realizes the benefit in doing this. There\u2019s a direct tie back to the drivers. Drivers want to get home safely. They want to be in a truck that has the latest equipment, keeps them out of trouble, keeps them safe, keeps them uninjured. I think there are just a lot of benefits and I think that\u2019s reaching the marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fleets are seeing the merits in safety technology that help prevent accidents and, in the case of video recording technology, can help exonerate drivers and fleets involved in crashes, Lager said. \u201cI think it behooves us all to run the safest equipment that we can so we can avoid those kinds of things and keep the image of the industry up,\u201d he said during the briefing. \u201cIt\u2019s not overly expensive to put this equipment on trucks\u2014and the payback is certainly multifold.”<\/p>\n

Frito-Lay\u2019s Roberts said she\u2019s seen the industry rally around safety technologies to achieve \u201ca common goal. Everybody has the goal to make our roads safer and the motoring public safer, our drivers safer. There is demand for this, and the OEMs are making it easier and more available as a standard issue. I think it\u2019s just been a really great combination as you start to see all this head together because we\u2019re all going in the same direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hillyard\u2019s Amen said his fleet has been seeking newer technologies for years, noting that his fleet started using electronic logging devices in 2004\u201415 years before the federal ELD mandate. And Hillyard has tried to be an early adopter of safety technologies too. \u201cPrivate fleets, in general, look at how to be safe, how to deliver product in a timely fashion at a best-cost scenario\u2014and get home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sustainability movement<\/h3>\n

Environmental sustainability continues to be a priority for the vast majority of private fleet respondents. The survey found 89% of fleets invest in green initiatives, up from the 85% reported in 2020.<\/p>\n

PepsiCo and Frito-Lay have \u201ca pretty aggressive sustainability target to hit over the next few years,\u201d Roberts said. She added she was pleased to see the sustainability solutions growing in trucking. About half of Frito-Lay\u2019s heavy-duty equipment runs on compressed natural gas. \u201cAs we continue to expand our portfolio into more electric vehicles, it\u2019s just really neat to see how the private fleet industry is leaning more towards some of the alternative fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equipment mileage<\/h3>\n

The average heavy-duty truck on a private fleet logged 91,500 miles in 2020, according to the 2021 report. That was down slightly from the 91,600 miles reported the previous year. Moore linked this lower number to COVID-19 impacts but noted that private fleets can be more stable than for-hire fleets in milage\u2014at least for now.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
National Private Truck Council<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"The<\/div>\n<\/div>
The average annual mileage by private fleet heavy-duty equipment, according to the 2021 NPTC benchmarking survey. Editor’s note: 2020 data is marked “2021,” for the year it was collected; “2020” reflects 2019 data, and so on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cPrivate fleets are pretty well-positioned in terms of doing what they do well now in their service,\u201d Moore said. \u201cSo I wouldn\u2019t anticipate wild fluctuations in the various annual mileages per unit. Where I do see some changes is because of the commercial vehicle shortage<\/a>. I anticipate that fleets may be pushing out their trade cycles a little bit longer because they just can\u2019t get the equipment in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an industry standpoint, I would anticipate that (mileage) to start to go up,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAs supply chains recover from post-COVID and manufacturing and inventory positions, I do anticipate we\u2019ll start to see those supply chain bottlenecks starting to ease. You\u2019ll start to see a little bit more of that freight. From a Frito-Lay perspective, in general, I would say our network expands and contracts based on capacity. As we continue to add additional capacity\u2014whether it\u2019s an increase of utilization of our existing fleet or we\u2019re adding incremental capacity\u2014we do anticipate to see miles continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penske\u2019s Lager added: \u201cEverybody\u2019s going to have to operate more efficiently in the coming years because of that (equipment) constraint and the driver constraint,\u201d Lager said. But because fleets are moving toward shorter driver routes to keep those employees closer to home, the average miles for drivers could come down. \u201cBut I do think most fleets are going to end up running more miles on these trucks and more per year, most likely, because they\u2019re going to have to be more efficient with the equipment that they have.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the equipment and driver capacity crunch continues, Roberts said it will be interesting to see how the average private fleet driver\u2019s work percentages change between on-duty driving time and unloading time \u201cbecause that\u2019s going to impact the utilization of the equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Surveyed<\/div>\n<\/div>
Surveyed fleets reported that their drivers, on average, work 53.5 hours per week. That time is divided between 34.8 hours of driving and 18.4 hours of other work. Editor’s note: 2020 data is marked “2021,” for the year it was collected; “2020” reflects 2019 data, etc.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Surveyed fleets reported that their drivers, on average, spend 34.8 hours per week driving and another 18.4 hours working at non-driving tasks, such as loading (6.4 hours per week), unloading (12 hours), and \u201cother duties\u201d (5 hours), such as paperwork, pre- and post-trip inspections, and fueling.<\/p>\n

The survey showed that the average power unit is utilized 13 hours a day, up from the 12.2 hours last year. Those 13 hours mean there is room to increase equipment utilization, Moore said. \u201cWe have a number of our fleets that are slip seating and we\u2019re still just getting 13 hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driver retention<\/h3>\n

The \u201cculture of retention\u201d is helping private fleets during the driver shortage, which American Trucking Associations pegs at around 80,000<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s not any one thing that you\u2019re seeing,\u201d Moore explained. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a combination, where the drivers are treated like people, they\u2019re part of a team. Their contributions are valued, their contributions are recognized, they\u2019re paid for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that private fleets are becoming more sensitive to that culture and working with drivers. Moore also believes the safety technology adoptions are a key. \u201cTechnology is not just implemented as a gotcha, it\u2019s also implemented to reward very good behavior. And our members are recognizing those drivers that do produce and I think that\u2019s a really good trend here.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the height of the pandemic and lockdowns around the nation, Roberts said that Frito-Lay drivers saw the stability that comes with driving for a private fleet like hers. \u201cA lot of drivers are looking for careers, not jobs,\u201d she explained. \u201cOne of the things that we have in our advantage is that stability and growth. I think a lot of our drivers want to be in an organization where they know, even during a COVID shutdown, we were still working. We were still hiring. We never slowed down. We never took even a partial day off.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Josh Fisher<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

KNOW WHO WE ARE<\/strong><\/a><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After weathering the uncertainty around the pandemic, the corporations running private trucking fleets have set themselves up with more safety technology, loyal drivers, and more control of their services, according to the annual NPTC benchmarking survey. Customer service, safety, efficiency, and stability are helping private fleets retain drivers and keep corporate costs down during the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[353],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13096,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13094\/revisions\/13096"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}