Fleet Advantage, a truck fleet business analytics, equipment financing and lifecycle cost management company, released its 2017 Truck Lifecycle Data Index (TLDI) comparing all-in operating costs of early-model Class 8 trucks to 2018 model year (MY) replacements. The TLDI shows significant cost savings when replacing older-model vehicles with 2018 MY trucks.
Working from Fleet Advantage’s Advanced Truck Lifecycle Administrative Analytics Software (ATLAAS), the TLDI shows that fleet operators can realize a first-year per-truck savings of $22,162 when upgrading from a 2012 sleeper MY truck to a 2018 MY, a 17% increase in savings compared with year-ago figures ($19,023) for 2017 model-year upgrades.
A significant portion of these savings can be found in the maintenance costs, Fleet Advantage reported, in addition to the 15% fuel economy improvement—especially considering that the U.S. average retail price of diesel currently sits at $2.915 per gallon, the highest mark in more than two years and 35 cents higher than a year ago.
“Maintenance and repair [M&R] costs increase drastically in years five to eight-—about three and a half times higher than years one through four,” said Michael Spence, senior vice president of fleet services at Fleet Advantage. “When analyzing M&R in the Fleet Advantage Truck Lifecycle Data Index, the M&R cost of a 2012 MY sleeper is $17,315. When comparing this to M&R cost of $1,820 for 2018 MY, that’s more than a $15,000 difference.”
Big ticket maintenance items, according to Spence, include:
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Equipment issues combined with warranty expiration—emissions issues such as DPF cleaning or replacement; failing engine components; and brake issues in which costs jump significantly at 250,000 miles.
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Unforeseen breakdowns.
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Lack of follow-up repairs.
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Tire wear.
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