The American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council found an industry-wide decrease in the frequency of unscheduled roadside maintenance during the second quarter of 2021 through its TMC/FleetNet America Vertical Benchmarking Program.
“We continue to be pleased to offer TMC fleet members this information on the frequency of unscheduled roadside breakdowns by VMRS system,” said Robert Braswell, TMC executive director. “The ongoing series demonstrates that fleets can improve their breakdown performance if they follow the lead of best-in-class fleets in each of the vocational segments tracked.”
The TMC/FleetNetAmerica survey found that during the second quarter of 2021, fleets averaged 31,638 miles of operation between unscheduled road repairs—up 7.2% from 29,506 in the first quarter of 2021.
Truckload carriers averaged 23,769 miles between breakdowns, an 8.8% increase in miles from the previous quarter. The time between breakdowns for LTL carriers increased to 46,186 miles in the second quarter from 44,380 in the first quarter of 2021. The tank sector saw a slight improvement, running 18,241 miles in the second quarter, up from 17,420 in the previous quarter.
“The data tells us that if, for example, the truckload carriers running the average miles between breakdowns could reach best-in-class performance, they would increase their miles between breakdowns by 64%,” said Emily Hurst, manager of data and analytics at FleetNet America, “And that would result in overall lower costs.”
The data indicate that the maintenance practices of the best-in-class fleets in each vertical resulted in lower costs for those fleets. For example, the leading fleet in the tank vertical operated more than twice as many miles between roadside breakdowns than the average for the tank vertical.
Understanding the frequency of roadside failures, and how a fleet’s experience compares to similar operations, can help maintenance leaders identify opportunities to improve their operations and reduce their maintenance expense.
The TMC/FleetNet Vertical Benchmarking Program is a benefit for TMC fleet members. In addition to the executive summary, which is available to TMC members, fleets that participate by sharing their data are provided an analytic tool that allows them to drill into their data, comparing it to the industry average.
Interested parties may also purchase copies of the report from TMC. Visit ATA Business Solutions for more information.
The program is a strategic collaboration between TMC/ATA and FleetNet America and is open to TMC fleet executive level members and FleetNet customers. The analytics provided via the program will be cumulative and non-fleet specific. For information about the TMC/FleetNet Vertical Benchmarking Program, visit https://benchmarkit.fleetnetamerica.com.