2017 Fleet Management Trends: Donald Trump
Donald Trump's swearing in as the nation's 45th president on Jan. 20 should usher in an era of economic growth, lower taxation, and fewer regulations that will benefit the commercial fleet industry, according to fleet management company experts.

Photo via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia.

Photo via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia.
Donald Trump's swearing in as the nation's 45th president on Jan. 20 should usher in an era of economic growth, lower taxation, and fewer regulations that will benefit the commercial fleet industry, according to fleet management company experts.
"At least for the near term, there will be a focus on growing the economy," said Tom Callahan, president of Donlen. "This will be done by reducing taxes, repatriation of corporate profits, closing loop holes and lessening burdensome regulations, and this will provide stimulus to the economy and drive expansion, which means more fleet orders."

Callahan
Repealing and replacing Obama's health-care plan, tax reform, reversing regulations, immigration, and infrastructure spending should appear on Trump's to-do list during his first 100 days, reports The Hill.
Within days of Trump's Nov. 8 election victory over Hillary Clinton, the Alliance for Auto Manufacturers submitted a letter asking the president-elect to review corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards that had been tightened by President Obama.
The Trump administration is opposed to the Paris Agreement climate accord ratified in April that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and Energy Department secretary pick Rick Perry once called for the elimination of the agency.

Coffey
"If Trump eventually rolls back regulations in the automotive sector, he would likely stimulate growth," said Tom Coffey, vice president of sales and marketing with Merchants Fleet Management. "We believe increased growth could come if regulations are relaxed, especially in the automotive sector, but hopefully not at the expense of safety and the environment."
Through a series of tweets and a Jan. 11 press conference, Trump has indicated a desire to reduce regulations.
Trump and House Republicans will need to reach consensus on plans to revamp the international tax code.
Trump has said a GOP plan to create what experts call a "border adjustable" business tax is too complicated. The proposal would essentially tax imports but not exports. It's projected to raise more than $1 trillion, and is one of the main ways they intend to finance an overhaul, reports Politico.
Facets of tax reform could affect fleet management companies.
"The lowering of corporate taxes and possible one-time lower taxation of repatriated profits could be paired with limitations on deductions including deductibility of interest expense," said Callahan. "This can potentially impact financial services companies including FMCs."
Trump has already made his presence felt in the weeks leading up to his inauguration with a series of Twitter updates mentioning companies, including automakers, who produce vehicles in Mexico. This month, automakers have made a flurry of announcements about new manufacturing investments in the U.S., including Ford canceling its $1.6 billion Mexico plant, Fiat Chrysler expanding Jeep production in Ohio and Michigan with $1 billion, General Motors investing $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing and shifting axle production to Michigan, and Hyundai-Kia spending $3.1 billion over five years, which may include a new SUV plant.
"The President elect’s desire to bring more manufacturing back to the U.S. could drive up vehicle prices through both higher production costs and import tariffs," Coffey added.
More Operations

From AI Prompts to AI-Generated Safety Songs | AF News Recap
Can better prompts make AI more useful for fleet managers? This week, we’re breaking down smarter fleet analysis, an AI-assisted experiment that turned safety training into music, and what happened to fuel prices in August.
Read More →
How to Write Better AI Prompts for Fleet Analysis
Include these six elements in your fleet prompts to generate more relevant analysis and accurate answers.
Read More →
Fleet Meets: Eric Kilgore
This edition of the Fleet Meets series features one of the industry's best leaders driving multi-market and national operations.
Read More →
Why Reactive Fleet Management Is Becoming Too Expensive to Sustain
Research highlights a growing need for proactive management strategies to address rising costs in fleet operations effectively.
Read More →
What Your Fleet KPIs Aren’t Telling You
Tracking fleet metrics is only useful when the data leads to better decisions. This guide helps fleet leaders assess cost, utilization, and downtime more accurately, identify performance gaps, and prioritize the actions that can improve operational results.
Read More →
Hidden in Plain Sight: Fleet Compliance Risks
Fleet compliance isn't just about having policies — it's about consistently enforcing them. This practical guide reveals six hidden compliance risks common in public sector and shared fleet operations and outlines proven strategies to improve visibility, accountability, and audit readiness
Read More →
Turning Fleet Payment Data into Executive Insights
Does data alone drive results in operations?
Read More →
Automotive Fleet Opens 2026 Personal Use Survey for Commercial Fleet Managers
Commercial and corporate fleet managers are invited to share how their organizations handle company vehicle personal-use policies, charges, and driver eligibility.
Read More →
Gary Van Orden Retires After Nearly Four Decades in Commercial Fleet
From answering customer calls at Ford Motor Company to leading fleet sales across multiple OEMs and a fleet management company, Gary Van Orden's career reflects nearly four decades of leadership in commercial fleet.
Read More →
How Stellantis Plans to Get Ahead of Fleet Downtime
Vehicle acquisition may grab the headlines, but fleet uptime increasingly determines operating success. Darren Bradshaw of Mopar North America gives the details.
Read More →

