The Fleet Lead

America 250: How NASCAR and North Carolina helped shape American trucking

Transportation is a major part of America's identity, and few regions are as steeped in automotive history as North Carolina. The Spirit of Innovation is more than alive in The Tar Heel State, from NASCAR to truck OEMS.
Fleet Maintenance editor Lucas Roberto visited Charlotte's NASCAR Hall of Fame where Winston Kelly, executive director of the facility, explained North Carolina's automotive culture, how the region's talent draws OEMs like Daimler Truck North America, Mack Trucks, and Volvo Truck North America. He also shared some lessons that commercial vehicle technicians can take from motorsports mechanics.

This week in trucking: New registration system, electric truck rebates

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of May 21:
California launched an electric truck rebate program
FMCSA's new registration system is live
Einride has an autonomous deployment in the Midwest
FMCSA announced $217 million in grant funding
Spot rates hit record highs
Diesel dropped 4 cents

International on prebuy capacity: Can carriers still get build slots before EPA 27?

The commercial transportation industry is staring down the EPA 2027 emissions standards. With the chances of prebuy chaos still high, is there a significant risk in waiting too long to secure your build slots?
At ACT Expo, Josh Fisher hosts International's David Hillman to discuss the mid-2026 trucking market ahead of the EPA 2027 emissions regulations, early fleet planning, and International's S13 integrated powertrain.
Timestamps:
1:27 – Growing demand for fleet equipment
4:19 – What is the risk of waiting too long to prebuy?
9:05 – How fleet concerns evolved with connected vehicles
11:07 – What is the single question fleet executives should be asking their dealers to prepare for 2027?

This week in trucking: Broker liability, autonomous boom

Here are the latest headlines from the trucking industry as of May 14:
The Supreme Court affirmed broker hiring liability
Cargo theft bill passed the House
Tariffs bounced in court
Tesla Semi entered serial production
California issued autonomous truck rules
Several carriers are adopting autonomous fleets
ACT Expo featured engine, e-axle, electric truck announcements
Diesel remained at $5.64 per gallon

The 11th hour: Vanishing truck slots and the return of the driver shortage

The commercial vehicle market faces vanishing equipment slots as the EPA prebuy emerges. Mixed with rising driver retention struggles and a shift toward private capacity, the North American trucking market is certainly chaotic.
Ken Vieth, president and senior analyst for ACT Research, talks with Josh Fisher about driver retention, equipment availability, and fleets' "planning nightmare."
01:16 — The driver shortage returns
04:56 — Will private fleets continue growing?
08:04 — The EPA prebuy
13:38 — Electric vehicles, competition with China
15:24 — Could autonomous tech help with labor problems?
17:42 — One of the most volatile times for trucking

This week in trucking: Freightliner safety tech, Clearinghouse security

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of April 30:
The Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse added more identity verification
FMCSA’s new registration system is coming soon
Freightliner is getting new driver assistance safety features
Bot Auto completed its first fully driverless commercial haul (EMBARGO LIFTS THURSDAY MORNING)
Descartes acquired an AI driver safety company for $28 million dollars
Diesel fell again by 5 cents
You can find the Bot Auto interview episode on Podbean here.

How Volvo raised the VNL's fuel efficiency

Over the last couple decades, truck manufacturers have made massive strides in fuel efficiency, helping carriers haul more for less fuel. At Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA), the VNL achieved a 7% efficiency boost in the last model alone!
Volvo's engineers brought those significant fuel savings through a combination of aerodynamic redesigns, engine geometry changes, intelligent drivetrain software, and more. In this episode Duane Tegels, product marketing manager for VTNA, explains how the company accomplished it.
Timestamps:
00:30 — How much VNL's fuel efficiency has improved
02:50 — The importance of cutting through air
04:20 — Powertrain improvements
06:15 — The RPM sweet spot
08:50 — Intelligent powertrain software

The FleetGap Initiative: get experienced help for your fleet at zero financial risk

Military service members often have no easy path into fleet management—even if they've worked as technicians while serving. Thanks to the work of the military's SkillBridge Program and Shzoom Technologies, members of the NAFA Fleet Management Association now have easy—and affordable—access to these determined workers.
Ingrid Cook Moravitz, founder and CEO of Shzoom, tells Fleet Maintenance's John Hitch how the program benefits everyone involved: participating shops, servicemembers, and the industry as a whole.
Timestamps:
1:44 - How Uptime works
4:10 - What is the FleetGap Program?
6:07 - Shazoom's work with Skill Bridge
8:21 - The government pays pre-apprentice wages
10:42 - In the shop while active duty

How Daimler engineers boost the Cascadia's fuel efficiency

With today’s diesel prices, the best way to reduce fuel costs is to run new equipment. The Freightliner Cascadia’s fuel efficiency has improved an impressive 35% since 2007. The constant improvement of the nation's most popular Class 8 vehicle is thanks to Daimler Truck North America’s engineers and their incremental tweaks to the tractor’s aerodynamics and powertrain.
In this episode, DTNA’s Greg Treinen, VP of on-highway market development, and Steve Collins, director of field sales engineering, describe the many small ways that DTNA made efficiency gains in the Cascadia—from bumper air ducts to combustion timing.
Timestamps:
0:32 — How much has the Cascadia’s efficiency improved?
1:18: Aerodynamic and other improvements
4:48: Efficiency improvements in the Gen 6 Detroit engine.
8:07: The rise of integrated powertrain components.
16:01: New electrical architecture and computational power.

This week in trucking: DataQ upgrade, new autonomous drayage truck

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of April 23:
FMCSA is improving DataQ reviews
Ohio publicly called out hundreds of carriers for unpaid tolls
PlusAI is no longer going public
A new autonomous trucking company entered the market
Diesel dropped by 21 cents