Blogs

Automotive Fleet Magazine

Subscribe | Digital Edition

Oct 20-22, 2026 | MD

Driving Notes

Knowing about a vehicle is one thing; driving it is quite another. Getting behind the wheel gives yo...

Multiple Authors

6 contributors

Start reading →

FleetTakes

FleetTakes is exactly that — a take on what fleets need to know when it comes to the latest in autom...

Chris Brown

Associate Publisher

Start reading →

Insight Lane

Insight Lane delivers Colin Sutherland’s perspective from the intersection of leadership and innovat...

Start reading →

Market Trends

Automotive Fleet's former editor, Mike Antich, shared his opinions and ideas on the overall commerci...

Multiple Authors

2 contributors

Start reading →

Remarketing Streams

Remarketing Streams reports on the flow of used vehicles moving through the consignor-auction-dealer...

Martin Romjue

Managing Editor

Start reading →

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•September 4, 2004

The Top 5 Issues Facing Public Sector Fleet Managers

For the past several years, political subdivisions have been experiencing a shortfall in general tax revenues. For fleet operations this has meant an ongoing shortage of vehicle replacement money, which has caused fleet and equipment inventory to steadily age and maintenance resources to be stretched thin.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•August 7, 2004

Railway Choke Points Threaten to Lengthen Fleet Order-to-Delivery Times for 2005 Models

One of the key factors contributing to longer order-to-delivery (OTD) times in the 2004-MY has been the nationwide rail car shortage. The shortage affected not only the auto industry, but also all other industries that rely on rail transportation, such as the agricultural, mining, chemi-cal, and timber industries. One reason for the shortage was that the railroads were caught off-guard by the unexpected demand for their services as the national economy began to improve. In fact, freight volume t

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•August 4, 2004

Fleets Struggle to Cope With High Cost of Steel and Long Truck OTD

Two issues on the minds of many fleet managers are the unbelievably long order-to-delivery (OTD) times for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and the sharp increase in the cost of steel, which has increased upfitting costs across the board.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•July 22, 2004

Inconsistent Pricing of Employee Sales May Be Non-Compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is mandatory for all publicly traded corporations. Under the new federal law, corporations must eliminate all conflicts of interest, establish processes to ensure honest corporate disclosure, and govern with greater accountability. Furthermore, the legislation mandates accuracy of a company’s financial reports, requiring finance departments to better understand the true picture of a company‘s inventory and assets, such as with fleet.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•July 9, 2004

What’s On the Minds of Fleet Managers

The summer months are a busy time in the fleet industry. There are many fleet meetings and new-model introductions, which provides me with an opportunity to talk “fleet” with a wide variety of fleet managers. Two issues on the minds of many fleet managers are the unbelievably long order-to-delivery (OTD) times for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and the encroachment of other corporate functions into traditional fleet management responsibili-ties.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•July 4, 2004

Strategic Procurement Threatens to Fundamentally Change Fleet Management

Corporate procurement departments are becoming the engines of change in fleet management at Fortune 500 companies. The emergence of strategic sourcing in the 1990s is rapidly altering corporate purchasing and increasingly forcing change in fleet purchasing and the supplier selection process.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•June 27, 2004

Why is Driver Reimbursement the Wrong Choice? Here are 30 Reasons

1. Loss of Competitive Assistance Program (CAP) Monies from Factories Oftentimes, manufacturer fleet incentive programs, such as competitive assistance programs (CAP), are structured based on reaching tiered volume purchasing levels. A re-imbursement program, in which some employees are re-quired to use their own vehicles, would decrease a com-pany’s fleet volume and its eligibility for additional CAP monies.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•June 21, 2004

The Business Case for Short Cycling Compact SUVs

The aggressive fleet incentives that manufacturers are currently offering commercial fleets present the opportunity to give serious consideration to substituting a compact SUV on a selector in lieu of a traditional intermediate-size fleet sedan, so long as it is capable of fulfilling the fleet application. When you compare lifecycle costs during a 36-month service life, a compact SUV actually has a lower monthly total cost. Interestingly, they are also less expensive at a shorter 24-month cycle.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•June 15, 2004

Five Reasons to Reject Driver Reimbursement

The issue of driver reimbursement is a perennial issue confronting our industry. Whenever there is a new corporate management or when corporate sales are flat or when new cost-cutting initiatives are instituted, someone invariably asks whether it would make better business sense to reimburse employees for the use of thier personal vehicles rather than providing company vehicles.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•June 4, 2004

Record-High Fuel Prices Give Fleets a Sobering Reality Check

The breathtaking escalation in gasoline and diesel prices has given the fleet industry a reality check as to how quickly fuel can dramatically increase vehicle-operating expenses. In the first five months of 2004, the price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline increased almost 30 percent, which represents, on an annualized basis, an average increase of almost $600 per vehicle, based on driving 2,000 miles a month.

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•May 29, 2004

Fleet Policy is the Best Way to Control Costs How Do You Insure Drivers are Following It?

Market Trends•by Mike Antich•May 26, 2004

Growing Legislative Trend to Mandate Fleet Vehicles as Smoke-Free Workplaces

The legislative definition of “workplace” is expanding to include company or publicly owned fleet vehicles. The catalyst behind this change is legislation mandating smoke-free workplaces. (See Market Trends, December 2003 issue.) The latest legislation to do so is in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is expected to enact (after our press time) a new public health law (H4256), which goes into effect July 5. The new state health law bans in Massachusetts all smoking in public buildings and

Prev Next