Fleet Advantage says the new program dovetails with its asset management for heavy-duty trucks business that uses business intelligence and flexible finance programs to give its customers a lower cost of ownership. The company is now adapting its lifecycle management to trailers, with data that it says validates similar cost benefits when shortening trailer lifecycles.
Fleets that replace their trailers every five to seven years through the EXchangeIT program, as opposed to legacy practices of operating them for ten years or longer, can save a per-unit savings of $8,758 in the first year for refrigerated trailers, when replacing a 2015 model year with a 2021 model year.
Fuel cost savings come from running a more efficient unit, and from aerodynamic components such as Trailer Under Fairing and Low Rolling Resistance Tires and weight reduction, as well as significant maintenance and repair (M&R) cost-savings, particularly on the refrigerator unit.
Additional benefits of new equipment include temperature and trailer tracking, tire monitoring and inflation systems, and overall cooling improvements that eliminate degradation of insulation. Lastly, newer trailers have higher reliability with trailer uptime and provide compliance with various mandates such as the California Air Resources Board Regulations (CARB), Tier 4 emission standards, and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
“Transportation fleets that leverage Fleet Advantage and its EXchangeIT program and analytics software ultimately save on the cost of their trucks and trailers over the long-term since they make replacement decisions based on economic obsolescence rather than functional obsolescence,” said Brian Holland, president and chief financial officer of Fleet Advantage. “Furthermore, this model helps fleets determine replacement cycles more accurately, rather than by equipment failure reaction, which can help fleets avoid production backlogs from truck and trailer manufacturers.”
The latest ACT Research Trailer Components Report noted that manufacturers continue to produce trailers at near-record levels, with a lack of available production slots and OEMs’ unwillingness to accept orders for 2020.
