Michelin unveiled Sunday at the Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Expo in Orlando its Guard Lite Skirt Kit, a new patented integrated rib cover that allows for easy installation with only three brackets compared with the standard four to five brackets. The top fairing is compatible with all trailer configurations and flush to the edge as to not interfere or cause damage while docking. It also offers up to 66% higher ground clearance (15 inches vs. 9 inches) and lighter weight to maximize load capacity. An integrated stiffener, which allows for the use of only three Generation-2 brackets, reduces weight and installation time. The modular solution, fits almost all trailer sizes from 28-foot pup trailers to 53-foot long box trailers. The Guard Lite Skirt Kit – the only SmartWay Certified kit under 19-foot – joins Michelin's Energy Guard lineup, which includes trailer skirt, end fairings, newly designed mud flaps and wake reducers and Karen Schwartz, Vice President of Marketing for Michelin North America, said she expects it to reduce overall operational costs, saving up to 7.2 gallons for every 1,000 miles driven when paired a 53-foot box trailer. Alongside the new skirt, Michelin debuted its second-generation Energy Guard Mud Flaps, which it said were re-designed through advanced research and development to further reduce vehicle drag. The low-flex and anti-sail design helps keep Energy Flaps straight while the vehicle is in motion and feature patented hole patterns and extensions for correct placement without drilling new holes in standard mud flap hangers. A new progressive louvered design helps reduce vehicle drag, optimizes louver spacing for high air pass-through. They are also designed to deflect road spray and debris downward, as well as enable better side-view visibility for drivers and improved visibility and safety for drivers of surrounding vehicles. Weighing in at 7 pounds per pair, and available in sizes 18”Wx30”L, 24”x24,” 24”x30” and 24”x28", the the Gen 2 flap is made with up to 60-80% recycled materials, can withstand operating temperatures from -40°F to 212°F, Schwartz said. Energy Guard Mud Flaps will be standard fitment for all of Utility Trailer Manufacturing's refrigerated trailers beginning later this year, and will be available to Utility's dry van customers. Michelin X Line Energy Z+ tireAlso Sunday the world was introduced to the Michelin X Line Energy Z+ tire – the newest addition to its X Line Energy Z line and its its lowest rolling-resistance long-haul steer tire. The new tire will not replace the X Line Energy Z, Schwartz said, rather "it is an additional offer for those long-haul fleets that value optimal fuel efficiency leading improved total cost of ownership.” The new tire uses both Infinicoil (a continuous steel wire, up to ¼ mile in length, that is wrapped around the tire circumference to make it more stable and durable throughout its service life) and Regenion (metal 3D printing techniques that enable the tread design to evolve over time as it wears, giving drivers the grip they need over the service life of the tire in all conditions) sculpture technology. Regenion features in the 18/32” deep tread design of the X Line Energy Z+ tire, and an evolving tread design allows additional tread grooves to develop at lower tread depths, Schwartz said. “This gives a cost-competitive advantage to owners as the tire performance will be enhanced, allowing for longer use, less irregular wear and new-tire-like traction throughout the tread life," she added. Expected to launch in the third quarter of 2023, the Energy Z+ will be offered only in 295/75R22.5 LRH. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC
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ConMet made several product announcements at the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Convention, in Orlando Sunday. The next evolution of its PreSet Plus wheel hub, the PreSet Plus Efficiency Package, will be optimized with a proprietary low-drag seal and advanced surface-coated bearings. Beto Dantas, ConMet chief technology and innovation officer, said the package will further reduce resistance at the wheel end, improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. The company will also soon release a flat rotor with a proprietary coating to improve corrosion resistance in high-heat brake rotor applications, reducing wear and tear for longer rotor life. Building on its entrance into the electric vehicle market with its PreSet Plus eHub solution in 2020, ConMet also is developing an electronic wheel hub disconnect that enables 6×4 to 4×2 conversion using an electronic switch or automated by speed via software controls. This new technology helps to extend EV battery range when applied at highway speed and can also be used for easy transport of new tractors. In the ConMet Digital group that includes Preset Plus SmartHub, SmartTrack asset management and SmartAir tire pressure management system, the company is releasing the ConMet Digital Driver App in March to give drivers a simplified view of the data needed to increase speed and accuracy of pre-trip inspections. It also provides real-time alerts to determine when to take action during a route and avoid downtime, and streamlines communication between the driver and the service team to increase uptime and efficiency. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC In partnership with the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC), Mitchell 1 has merged TMC Recommended Practices (RP) into its web-based TruckSeries diagnostic and repair program, the company announced at the TMC Annual Meeting and Expo in Orlando Sunday. More than 500 voluntary technical standards are included in the current edition of TMC’s 2022-2023 Recommended Practices Manual, covering maintenance, testing, and specification of a full range of vehicle systems such as electrical, tire and wheel, engines, chassis, brake systems and more. Ben Johnson, Mitchell 1's director of product management, said that while TMC’s Recommended Practices are valuable to the repair community – for technicians, service writers and shop managers – with hundreds of RPs available, "only a few might be appropriate for any given job,” he said. Including the RPs in TruckSeries, Johnson said, makes it easier for technicians to find specific information with a single search, improving efficiency and productivity in the shop, Johnson added, because one of the challenges with using RPs is "getting them to the point of need when (technicians) need it." TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell noted that incorporating RP content into TruckSeries will also help TMC further its goal of broader industry adoption of its recommended practices, especially among technicians. Each TMC RP is developed based on real-life experiences by maintenance and supplier personnel, and then subjected to evaluation by TMC members. “We are all working toward one common goal: to increase equipment maintenance efficiencies for the commercial truck industry," he said, "and merging the content into TruckSeries will help us disseminate this valuable information throughout the industry." Through a single log-in in TruckSeries, technicians can access all the information they need to diagnose and complete repairs for any year and make of medium and heavy-duty trucks. They can quickly identify and reference the appropriate Recommended Practice(s) for any given job via the program’s 1Search Plus card-based format or through the Service Manual view. Once a vehicle is selected in TruckSeries and a particular component is identified, the 1Search Plus view will include an index card for “Recommended Practices,” which will list RP’s that are associated with that particular vehicle and component. TruckSeries continuously updates information as it becomes available and is now being populated with service information on new technologies like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS. New TMC RPs will become visible as they are released. New wire-to-wire navigationMitchell 1 also announced a new diagram-to-diagram navigation feature to its Advanced Interactive Wiring Diagrams within TruckSeries. The new wire-to-wire jump feature is intended to increase technician efficiency as they navigate electrical issues on today’s ever-more complex vehicles, whether driven by internal combustion or electrical power. It allows users to navigate from one wiring diagram to another, following the wire which they were interested in, without exiting the initial view opened in TruckSeries for the job they are working on. Johnson said with electronically distributed wiring diagrams, it has always been challenging when one diagram ends and another needs to be accessed. "Even with old-style book manuals," he said, "we used to bookmark one diagram when we needed to research another. Now, we can seamlessly navigate between them, following the circuit we’re interested in, without sacrificing efficiency.” Wiring diagrams, especially with the new vehicles in use today, have branches that connect to other wiring diagrams that will likely need to be accessed in order to correctly diagnose a problem. In the past, for Mitchell 1 as well as other wiring diagram providers, it would be necessary to exit the main view to search and find the ancillary wiring diagram for individual components. Now, each detailed wiring diagram can be accessed right from the main diagram by simply clicking on links shown for specific areas. There is also a history section within the view that stores up to the 10 most recent diagrams, so the technician can jump back to a previous view without having to exit. “With the continued focus on electrification and new systems, Mitchell 1 has made significant investments in driving efficiencies into the electrical diagnostic process,” Johnson commented during his presentation. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC At the TMC Annual Meeting and Expo in Orlando Sunday, Doleco unveiled its new ConnectedDeck System, which merges two or three adjustable, self-leveling decking beams with a formed composite panel to create an integrated cargo platform that is easily adjustable, stores at ceiling height and never has to be disassembled and reassembled. The ConnectedDeck System is based on the design of Doleco's Level Deck Self-Leveling Decking Beam and LayerLok XP Track. Fitted with its ultralightweight, composite decking platform, the ConnectedDeck design enables workers to easily deploy and adjust an entirely decked, ready-to-load, two- or three-beamed cargo platform in seconds. Locked at ceiling height when not in use, the whole unitized platform can be released with a common dock hook or fifth-wheel pin puller. No system-specific tool is needed, eliminating the problem of missing or misplaced beam release tools. After one side of the ConnectedDeck is unlocked (with a single pull), the entire spring-assisted, self-leveling platform is freed and can easily be manipulated by hand, moved to its desired height and locked into position: cutting a nearly 5 minute process into 13 seconds. Ralph Abato, president and managing director of Doleco USA, said, conservatively, a fleet with 1,000 trailers could save $15.8 million per year (and 504,583 hours of labor) by simply converting to Doleco’s ConnectedDeck System. The entire unit requires less than 10 pounds of force to pull down and can lift itself, unassisted, back to its ceiling storage position, and unlike other captive decking systems, its beams won’t inadvertently fall. The entire 4'x8' platform weighs 21 pounds, saving hundreds of pounds over competing materials. Common track and beam damage also figured into the equation of Doleco’s captive decking system analysis, and Abato said the ConnectedDeck solution addressed these too. The system’s Level Deck beams and robust foot assemblies can withstand up to the most severe forklift strikes, and its locking mechanism is designed to prevent upward adjustments by forklifts. The system’s LayerLok XP track can be traditionally installed with rivets or with an adhesive. Other captive decking systems rely exclusively on rivets to secure their vertical tracks to trailer walls. The regular up-and-down movement of beams, the mechanical action of trailers in motion and even minor encounters with a forklift cause rivet holes to deform, tracks to misalign and often to detach from trailer walls, causing beams to chafe or completely jam. Doleco’s LayerLok XP can be installed with structural-grade adhesives. Used widely in trailer body construction, among other heavy-duty industries, and for track applications in Europe for more than 15 years, these advanced adhesives provide Doleco’s tracks with three times the strength of riveted tracks, without penetrating and compromising trailer walls. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has long thought fleets would face, on their paths to decarbonization a "messy middle" – a phrase NACFE coined in 2019 to describe a period of time with numerous available powertrain options, including advanced diesel, renewable fuels, natural gas, hydrogen, hybrids, battery electric power and hydrogen fuel cells, with no one solution for all duty cycles. "Trucking is decarbonizing... [and] we're doing it in a number of different ways," said. Mike Roeth, NACFE’s executive director. "We just can't keep running diesel. It's just something we're going to have to move on from." Sunday, at the Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Expo in Orlando, NACFE released its latest thought leadership report – The Messy Middle: A Time For Action – which surmises that the forthcoming green-energy quandary isn't necessarily a bad thing, rather will be a time where fleets will want to take action, will have many options to consider, and will need to look beyond just the truck to the infrastructure needed to support it. The key takeaway in the report, NACFE hopes, is that fleets recognize that they need now to begin wading into the messy middle in order to get ready for a zero-emissions future. The report also found that all stakeholders should support fleets in making the right adoption decisions, decisions should include a realistic understanding of pipeline capabilities, and an even higher level of collaboration is essential. Clean energy consultant Jeff Seger noted there has been a change in thought in a fleet's need to get loads delivered on time and at the lowest cost. It now includes getting it there on time, at the lowest cost and with the lowest environmental impact. NACFE developed a best practice for decision-making to help fleets evaluate options, and placed battery electric on square one. NACFE advises that fleets first start zero emission considerations with battery electric trucks, because if they meet the needs of the duty cycle BEVs can be the simplest path forward and a single change for the fleet. The next consideration might be hydrogen fuel cell vehicles – possibly a better solution for long haul, assuming technology matures and green hydrogen becomes more widely available. "If you're going to this future, the battery electric truck is the simper of the two (between battery electric and hydrogen)," Roeth said. Natural gas, hybrids, renewable fuels and hydrogen internal combustion engines are options in the messy middle that fleets might deploy if strategies to decarbonize cannot be supported in a timely manner by zero-emissions solutions. In some cases, NACFE said, it may make sense to stay with a diesel strategy working to make the equipment and operations as efficient as possible leading to a later decision to move to zero-emission vehicles. "If that final piece is diesel, we suggest you be very agressive with efficiency," Roeth said, adding that solutions like low rolling resistance tires and aerodynamics will be critical for fleets that can't get to zero emission. Roeth stressed that fleets are unlikely to successfully traverse the messy middle alone and stressed the need to engage with utilities, governmental agencies, charging equipment manufacturers, OEMs, and others to leverage all the available knowledge, and he encouraged fleets to hold tight to the specs that meet their needs versus simply seeking out a green solution. "Don't do a poor job of releasing and maintaining in your trucks trying to do too much," he said.
https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC Rising costs of parts and labor is slowing, according to the latest quarterly benchmarking report released Sunday at the Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Expo in Orlando from Decisiv and the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council. Although parts and labor costs increased 13% in 2022, that represents a 10% drop in the rate of increase. On a quarterly basis, parts and labor costs declined in the fourth quarter of 2022 by 0.9% compared to the third quarter, including a 1.6% drop in parts costs and a slight increase of 0.4% in labor costs. Powerplant parts and labor costs totaled 35.7% of all service costs in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by exhaust systems (14%) and brakes (5.1%). Parts and labor costs rose 13% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Quarterly year-over-year comparisons earlier in 2022 showed a 15.3% increase. [Related: Repair labor rates climbing, driving technician pay raises] Decisiv noted that decreased mileage, caused by a slowing in for-hire truck tonnage and an increase in new truck production, are likely the largest factors influencing service cost declines. The data for the Decisiv/TMC report is derived from Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard (VRMS) service and repair events of more than 7 million commercial vehicles in North America that captures a weekly average of 70,000 events at nearly 5,000 locations. “The overall positive improvement in parts and labor costs shows that despite economic headwinds and supply chain challenges, commercial vehicle service operations continued to successfully offset increases driven by factors outside of their control,” said Dick Hyatt, Decisiv president and CEO. Decisiv said parts and labor costs in 2021 and 2022 ran 10% higher in the Western region of the U.S. than the other four U.S. regions and Canada, adding the increase may be caused by higher regional demand for technicians. TMC members can download the Decisiv/TMC quarterly benchmarking report here. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC Phillips Industries CEO and founder and CEO of Phillips Connect Rob Phillips announced Sunday at TMC’s 2023 Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition in Orlando the formation of Phillips Innovations, an accelerator for bringing products into the Phillips platform by collaborating with technology trailblazers that are developing original and inventive solutions for the transportation industry. "Our industry is slow at adopting technology," Phillips said, adding that the goal for Phillips Innovation was to bring onboard expertise that Phillips doesn't already have in-house. While Phillips is rolling the dice with tech companies on the cutting edge, those same companies will get a trucking industry stalwart in Phillips. Upwards of 99% of all trucks are delivered with Phillips products, and over 80% of trailers. Phillips said his company is "all about collaboration" as it seeks to build momentum in the smart trailer space and add more technologies to its platform, and is "investing heavily in the launch of Philips Innovations." At launch, Phillips Innovations will have two areas of focus: sustainable energy, including solar power and electrification products for trucks and trailers, and patented vision systems including a universal backup camera that uses open-source software and mobile applications Phillips has salted for release in the coming months. The first partnership is with Spartan Radar on its multi-zone object detection for dynamic situational awareness. The system gives the driver an audible alert as object moves into a trailer's blind spot. Phillips expects to integrate Spartan's capabilities with its own backup camera systems. It also plans to later this year make available Spartan's collision warning and driver alert system, Hoplo. Next is a partnership with Merlin Solar, who develops thin, pliable and lightweight solar panels. Phillips expects to make the panels available in the coming months to truck and trailer OEMs, and later this year as a retrofit. The third initial partnership is with ProEV, a manufacturer of high voltage harnesses. Phillips said his company is interested in layering a high voltage harness with a low voltage harness Phillips already produces for potential use in electric and hydrogen electric vehicles. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC J.B. Hunt Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 3) driver Andrew Waits of Tacoma, Washington, was named the 38th winner of the Goodyear Highway Hero Award at the 2023 Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, Sunday. Waits, a military veteran and full-time truck driver, was celebrated for assisting a motorcyclist that had been struck by a car: an accident that happened right in front of him last August. The result of an accident, a motorcyclist was thrown from his vehicle on a four-lane highway and Waits positioned his tractor trailer to shield the unconscious rider from oncoming traffic. Waits, also a volunteer firefighter, attended to the injured man until first responders could arrive. "Choose the hard right over the easy wrong," Waits said of his decision to act, noting that the saying was something he learned and remembered from his days in JROTC. "You know you did something right when your father, who doesn't say it a lot, tells you he's proud of you." Andrew is the first driver from J.B. Hunt to receive the award from Goodyear. "He's just a kind, caring and genuine person," said Henrik Christensen, J.B. Hunt account manager and Waits' supervisor. Christensen noted that he was one of the first people that Waits called when the dust had settled at the crash scene, but he wasn't calling to tell Christensen what he'd done. "The first thing he said was, 'Boss, I'm delayed. I'm sorry.' He apologized for being delayed. He just did what he thought was right because he could and it needed to be done." Waits was awarded $1,000 from Goodyear, a new television, new set of Goodyear tires for his personal vehicle and Goodyear-branded merchandise. Two additional finalists for the honor were: • Barry Perkins, of Burlington, New Jersey, who encountered a life-threatening accident that involved numerous cars, including a vehicle that caught fire with a family trapped inside. He extinguished the fire and helped the driver and her children exit the vehicle and get safely off the road. • Robert Windsor, of Norman, Oklahoma, who encountered a vehicle that was pinned underneath a semi-truck and engulfed in flames. He used his fire extinguisher to neutralize the flames before rescuing a young girl from the pinned vehicle. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC Pressure Systems International (P.S.I.) at the Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Expo in Orlando Sunday introduced Digital ThermALERT, a sensor that providing real-time trailer wheel-end temperature visibility through a telematics communication portal. P.S.I.’s ThermALERT, introduced in 2005 and standard on the P.S.I ATIS products since 2017, alerts users to elevated wheel-end temperatures that could cause damage, wheel loss or fire and excess roadside calls if not addressed early. Digital ThermALERT provides the same benefits of traditional ThermALERT plus full visibility of wheel-end temperatures thru P.S.I.’s TireView LIVE portal or through one of their telematics integration partners like Clarience Technologies' Road Ready. Craig Smith, P.S.I. marketing manager, said the real-time reporting from Digital ThermALERT aids in identifying the normal trailer wheel-end operating temperature of a user’s equipment and the ability to analyze wheel-end history. It can also help identify equipment or maintenance issues such as a dragging brake or bearing issue that can be scheduled in for service before damage can occur. The alert activation level can be customized by the user depending on equipment and personal preference. Digital ThermALERT is optimally located to read the temperature inside the spindle end at the wheel bearings and minimizes the effects of external thermal influences. The sensor has a replaceable battery with a conductor wire that is fed through the axle end and attached to a modified PSI spindle plug. Original ThermALERT activates about 100 degrees above normal operating temperature, whereas the digital version gives fleets the flexibility to adjust alert parameters to their specifications or preferences. P.S.I. on Sunday also introduced ATIS/MTIS Driver Video, which explains system operation and what to do when the system indicator light illuminates. It’s viewable on mobile via QR code or desktop. Available in the next couple months, a new decal with a QR code can be ordered from P.S.I. for retrofit placement on existing assets. New orders will receive an updated system decal with the QR code. "It's more than just a video," Smith said, noting there is "a wealth of information" available including the ability copy and send the link to a colleague. P.S.I. will also launch its TireView LIVE mobile app April 1 on Apple and Android devices with all the features and benefits of the TireView LIVE portal. Via the app, fleet operators can drill down by vehicle type, terminal or region and get help with pre-trip tire inspections and post-trip analysis. Convenient OTA updates and sensor pairing by is enabled by capturing sensor QR codes using a a mobile device camera. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC Despite challenges getting certain parts and components most of last year, the truck service repair business was booming, according to survey data compiled by Fullbay, a provider of heavy-duty truck and trailer repair shop management software, in partnership with the Technology & Maintenance Council. Fullbay queried more than 1,600 individuals from commercial freight, logistics and repair industries to aggregate and compile its 2023 edition of The State of Heavy-Duty Repair report. The company's findings were released Sunday at the Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Expo in Orlando. The labor costs up, most going to tech payMore than three-quarters (76%) of respondents said they raised labor rates in 2022, with the Southwest U.S. region leading the charge ($13.10/hour). Despite coming in with the highest overall hourly rate, the Western region reported the lowest average rate increase ($10.20/hour). About 92% of the shops that did raise labor rates passed a pay raise along to technicians. Among the shops that didn't raise labor rates, 42% gave their technicians a pay bump anyway. Hourly rate leads the way in how technicians are paid at 46%. Flat rate (28%) and a combination of flat and hourly (23%) make up most of the balance. "There's a growing movement to pay technicians on a per-job basis rather than a per-time basis," said Patrick McKittrick, Fullbay CEO, noting an uptick in flat rate billing and pay. The highest paid techs in the country come from the Southeast, averaging $46/hour. A close second is the West at $44.60/hour, followed by the Northeast at $44.50 and the Southwest at $41.90. The Midwest by far brings up the rear with regard to technician pay – almost $11/hour less than the top paid techs at $35.10/hour. Technicians are finding themselves on the clock for long periods, with 45% of Fullbay's technician respondents self-reporting working more than 40 hours per week, and 23% working more than 50. The most tenured techs are the ones are feeling the brunt; 46% of diesel techs with at least 20 years under their belt are working 50-plus hours a week. The highest average labor rate – by upwards of $24/hour – can be found in the Western U.S ($137/hour). The other four regions are separated by no more than $2/hour: $113/hour in the Midwest and Northeast; $115/hour in the Southwest and $114/hour in the Southeast, according to Fullbay. Spiking labor rates are translating to the bottom line too. As of 2022, most shops (32%) were making between 11% and 20% net profit, according to Fullbay's report. Another 20% claimed net margins of 21% to 30% and 19% claimed margins of 6% to 10%. Only 1% reported a net loss. Fullbay uncovered that in span of two years – from 2020 to 2022 – more shops were paying closer attention to the books, with just 10% saying they didn't know their shop's profitability compared to 20% two years earlier. Technician efficiency and utilization were high. Efficiency reached an overall average rate of 84% while utilization hit 66%, and the more techs a shop has, the higher its metrics for efficiency and utilization. The average invoice last year was $965, according to Fullbay, and repair was a seven-figure annual business for 49% of respondents. Revenue exceeded $1 million and reached upwards of $2 million for 25% of survey participants. Another 13% claimed revenues of more than $2 million up to $4 million, and 11% saw revenues in excess of $4 million. Revenues saw an overall 19% increase in 2022 compared to 2021, according to respondents, thanks in part to a shortage of new trucks and fleets using older trucks for longer periods of time. McKittrick noted that 89% of respondents have a website and get between 11-15 leads each month from their site. Fullybay also found that 20% of shops spend between $16,000 and $25,000 annually on marketing. The shops that offered more services, understandably, had more revenue. However, there were two thresholds in that shops offering more than three services were more likely to reach $500,000 in revenue, and offering more than seven services was the gateway to crossing $2 million. Shops capable of servicing between four and six vehicle types was the sweet spot for maximizing revenue, and adding more vehicle types didn't compound revenue potential. Shops capable of serving seven or more vehicle types had the same revenue potential as shops servicing three or fewer types. In-shop repair was the most commonly offered service (56%), followed by mobile service (53%). Heavy, in-frame repair (46%), 24/7 service (40%) and welding and fabrication (34%) round out the top 5. A technician generates between $10,000 and $15,000 per month in revenue, according to 17% of Fullbay's respondents. Next, at 16%, was between $5,000 and $10,000, followed by 15% who said $15,000 up to $20,000 per month. Mobile service had the highest average potential at between $20,000 and $30,000 per month, while internal fleet repair was the lowest at $5,000 to $10,000 per month. You can download the full free report here. A few other findings in Fullbay's report:• Only 5% of respondents were 24 years old or younger. The majority (75%) of respondents were between the ages of 25 and 44. Just 9% were 55 and older. Nearly a quarter of respondents were women. About 20% of the women who responded handled marketing for a repair shop; 18% were in office manager/accounting roles. • The average fleet manager responding to the query was 43 years old and had 20 years experience. The youngest (and greenest) role in the survey was marketing (36 years old and 10 years experience). Age-wise, executives and mobile technicians also averaged 36 years old but brought more experience to the table – 11 and 12 years, respectively. • 16% of respondents had been in business two or fewer years, but the lowest percentage of respondents was the group that would have been in the business the longest. Just 10% had been in business 30-plus years. • Nearly half (49%) of all shop work is scheduled with the balance being requested or emergency work and well over half (59%) of the work performed is repeat business. The older shops performed particularly well in customer loyalty with 77% of their business being repeat customers. • Just under half of respondents have spent almost their entire career with one shop. • Only 21% of technician respondents attended a trade school. • 46% of respondents said that due to parts and components shortages, they purchase "what is needed and a little more." Just 12% said they purchase only what is needed. Another 62% said they are frequently or very frequently seeking parts outside of their usual vendors, up from 45% a year earlier. • 88% of respondents pass a shop fee on to customers to cover the cost of shop supplies. https://ift.tt/qrg4UdC |
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