Private Fleets Adding Capacity Faster Than For-Hires: Survey

COLUMBUS, OH. — Private fleets are adding more capacity and units and they’re doing it faster than for-hire fleets.

That according to the Q2 2013 Fleet Sentiment survey by CK Commercial Vehicle Research (CKCVR).

Fifty-one fleets were surveyed, and each one operates in excess of 35,000 Class 8 trucks and 95,000 trailers.

Survey results showed that half of the private fleets were adding capacity, and 40 percent of the power units they plan on purchasing were being designated for that added capacity.

“For the same time period, a third of for-hire fleets said they were adding capacity averaging just 6 percent of power units directed to growing their vehicle population,” CKCVR reported.

Naturally, the need to add capacity means hiring more drivers. Chris Kemmer, Principal at CKCVR, noticed in the survey that “[…]for-hire fleets have a much, much larger problem with a shortage of drivers so adding capacity is hard; the private fleets in our advisory group generally don’t have that issue. They have an incentive to add capacity to be sure their products get shipped and the ability to do so because they can fill the trucks with drivers. We expect the looming Hours of Service regulation implementation adds to the urgency to solidify hauling capacity.”

The survey also showed that a majority of the fleets have sufficient capacity to meet their freight demand, but there is a growing majority that say they need more equipment. Forty-two percent of fleets surveyed are currently testing a product or technology.