At the end of the day, it all comes down to the point of view you want to take on an issue. Today’s issue is that of fleet management and the costs associated with it. One view for this would be that fleet costs have gone up increasingly over years, and the demand for transporting goods has fallen since the recession. Margins are smaller, budgets are leaner and it leaves everyone scratching at the chalk board for every bit of business around. You might be itching your head at this point wondering if there is another view point, and I assure you there is.
As far as a fleet managers stand point, your costs have leveled out for the last year as the price of fuel finally stabilized. Other markets such as tires, fleet maintenance and services have absorbed the inflation during these times as they do not want to lose what business they have.
I am sorry to report then, that these days are about over, and the forecast for the near future is headed back to the way we knew it. It is projected that services and fleet maintenance, which includes oils, parts, labor and shop supplies is expected to increase by 3-5% in 2011. The cost of fuel is expected to be around $2.90 all in for next year which is an added 6-8% over this year’s fuel expense. At the end of the day, fuel is a real wild card as we all remember to well fall of 2008 when the prices sky rocketed. All of these really goes back to the fact that we have to take control of our fuel management and watch every penny closely while our economy turns back up for the better.