I’ve spent the last few days at ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition in Charlotte, and nearly every conversation I had with customers came back to three topics: fuel, safety and drivers.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) ranks the trucking industry’s top concerns every year. This year’s report was released on Sunday, and high fuel prices jumped 17 spots to the No. 1 concern for fleet executives. For the first time, drivers ranked fuel as their top concern, too. Diesel has topped $6.50 a gallon, and the Energy Information Administration doesn’t expect prices to return to 2025 levels until at least 2028.
The rest of the list tells the bigger story. Operating costs excluding fuel reached $1.85 per mile, the highest ATRI has recorded in 18 years of tracking. The Compliance, Safety, Accountability program climbed to No. 3. The driver shortage is back in the top 10 at No. 5, with driver compensation and retention at No. 9 and No. 10. Fleets are being squeezed from every direction at once.
When I read that list, I see one person at the center of fuel, safety and retention: the driver.
Every gallon counts
Every fleet manager knows how a driver’s performance can vary, even behind the wheel of the same truck. Jason Damron of America’s Road Team said on the ATRI panel that he slows down and keeps his APU running to cut idle time.
Drivers like Jason are where savings start, and the truck has to do its part, too. When we redesigned the Volvo VNL for long haul, we engineered it for up to 10% improved fuel efficiency compared with the previous generation. Most of that gain comes from aerodynamics, and the latest D13 engine is even more efficient. We brought the same thinking to regional haul with the new Volvo VNR, which delivers up to 7.5% better fuel efficiency than the model it replaced.
Jason Damron’s comment about using an APU to reduce fuel consumption is a vote of confidence for Volvo’s addition of the integrated, battery-powered Volvo Parking Cooler on the new Volvo VNL, which eliminates the need to idle and burn gallons of diesel during rest breaks. Drivers love it because it keeps the sleeper cab at 74 degrees for up to eight hours without engine vibration or noise. Drivers get a comfortable night’s rest, and the fleet stops paying for diesel while the truck is parked.
At today’s diesel prices, those gains add up quickly. A long-haul truck running 100,000 miles a year at 7 miles per gallon burns about 14,300 gallons of diesel. A 10% improvement at $6.50 a gallon is worth up to roughly $9,300 per truck, per year. A regional truck running 80,000 miles a year at 6.5 miles per gallon could save up to about $6,000.
Taking the guesswork out of maintenance
Fuel isn’t the only cost fleets struggle to forecast. Maintenance and powertrain repairs are the two largest and least predictable costs a fleet carries. This week, we launched our Silver Service Contract for the new Volvo VNL and Volvo VNR. It combines preventive maintenance and powertrain repair coverage—including the engine, aftertreatment and transmission—in one monthly plan. Each customer gets a Volvo Fleet Manager at their dealership who uses connected-truck data to schedule service and manage software updates, and coordinates repairs when a truck breaks down far from home. With fuel prices this unpredictable, fleets should be able to count on their maintenance costs.
Safety has been in our DNA for nearly 100 years
Lawsuit abuse reform held at No. 2 on ATRI’s list, and carriers know that one serious crash can threaten an entire business. At Volvo, our vision is zero accidents. That’s why the new Volvo VNL comes standard with Volvo Active Driver Assist, which includes collision avoidance and adaptive cruise control to make the driver’s job easier and safer. Safety technology protects the fleet; it also tells drivers something about how much their employer values them. A driver who feels safe in the truck is more likely to stay with the fleet.
Listening to drivers
Fuel, safety and retention will keep showing up on ATRI’s list until we treat them as one challenge. Fleets can make progress on all three by giving drivers the right equipment, listening to what they need and measuring the results. At Volvo, we will keep building trucks with the driver at the center, and we will keep standing behind the profession.
This week, we marked our 25th year as the exclusive sponsor of America’s Road Team. Over those 25 years, Road Team Captains have logged about 428 million safe driving miles. They are professional drivers selected for their safety records, and they show students, lawmakers and the public what a career in trucking offers. The newest captains will travel the country in our top-of-the-line, all-new Volvo VNL 860.
