The Fleet Lead

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

What fuel efficiency techniques are fleets using?

Fuel costs are often top-of-mind for many motor carriers—especially with the recent diesel spike. The best way to cut fuel costs is to improve a tractor's miles-per-gallon. This episode of the Fleet Load hosts Yunsu Park, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency's (NACFE's) director of engineering, to talk about the fuel efficiency equipment and practices that make the biggest impact—and those that are popular among carriers.
Timestamps: 
0:22 – Yunsu's expertise
3:21 – Today's high-impact fuel efficiency equipment
5:56 – Fuel-saving operations
9:42 – Popular—and unpopular—efficiency options
12:18 – Liftable axles save fuel?

This week in trucking: Paper medical certs extended, chameleon carriers exposed

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of April 16:
Drivers’ paper medical card exemption extended to October
FMCSA is quietly allowing some states to reissue non-domiciled CDLs
An episode of ‘60 Minutes’ focuses on chameleon carriers
Private equity acquired Carrier Logistics
A proposed bill would increase minimum insurance requirements
Diesel prices FELL by 4 cents 

Van interior upfits that boost residual value?

Legend Fleet Solutions produces van liners and floors that can increase residual value by 10-35%. These products prevent cargo damage, keeping fleet vehicles like "brand new" for resale. The Fleet Lead's Kevin Jones hosts Legend's Jerry Simpson, sales representative, andBrendand Church, chief marketing officer, to hear more.
Timestamps:
01:40 — A fleet ROI case study
02:32 — How do skeptical buyers respond?
04:19  — Leaving the products with vehicles adds value
07:03 — What makes Legend unique
10:33 — How the company is handling tariff impacts.

BeyondTrucks on trucking's bend toward AI

Jason McDaniel hosts BeyondTrucks' CEO Hans Galland and Head of Product Mariah Alf to discuss the technological evolution of the trucking industry. The company's transportation management system has a host of AI tools, from rating calculations to natural language interfacing—but, they note, AI in trucking should not just be a "hammer looking for a nail."
 
Timestamps:
05:59 — Growth of transportation technology and BeyondTrucks' differentiator
13:15 — AI applications in for-hire trucking and BeyondTrucks
20:05 — What fleets should look for in AI
24:26 — Guarding against data overload
27:55 — BeyondTrucks' "AI rate agents" feature
38:00 — Carriers' technology adoption during the freight recession