With the ongoing war in Ukraine negatively impacting energy markets, combined with high inflation rates, the Element Fleet Management’s report focuses on four key trends affecting fleets in the final quarter of 2022.

The major highlights from Q4 “Trends by Element” report include:

Sustainability/charging investments

New federal investments in charging networks will contribute to advancing vehicle electrification. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced 35 states have received approval to start their EV Infrastructure Deployment Plans, paving the way for charging stations eventually becoming as accessible as gas stations. The goal is to install 500,000 public chargers in the U.S. in the next five years. In Canada, over $1.4 billion has been committed to build out charging infrastructure.

Acquisition

Despite production improvements and slower sales, new-vehicle inventory remains tight, and volume continues below historic norms. Order-to-delivery times are averaging +150 days.

Fuel

After a short relief at the pump during summer, fuel prices are rising again due to uncertainty in the global oil market and reduced oil production. Refinery issues such as outages and fires have caused fuel prices to rise in parts of the U.S. and Canada. California has been particularly hit by higher fuel prices due to refinery issues, which have also increased fuel prices in other states such as Oregon and Arizona. Over the last year, fuel prices have increased by approximately 16% in both the U.S. and Canada.

Safety

The adoption of advanced safety features such as crash avoidance technologies has resulted in a significant reduction in crash rates.

Trends by Element is a quarterly report that analyzes the latest fleet trends in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, emphasizing the three to four most relevant topics.

For further analysis of the North American market and recommendations for fleets, view the Q4 Trends by Element report HERE.