THE CAR AND TRUCK FLEET AND LEASING MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE
The market is shifting and you don’t want to be caught off guard. Pay attention to gas prices and retail buying trends, as well as the resale market so you don’t get caught with the wrong vehicle at the wrong time.
Presently, there are 34 million vehicles in operation in Mexico, of which 34% are commercial vehicles. The majority of large fleets operating in Mexico are owned or leased by multinational companies.
Automotive retail sales in Canada hit a record of 1.94 million new vehicles (fleet and retail) sold in calendar-year 2015, an increase of 2.6% over 2014. This is the third consecutive year of record retail sales in Canada.
Analysts contend that the crude oil supply-and-demand imbalance will be righted just as soon as the price climbs high enough to compel U.S. shale-oil drillers to again ramp up production.
A new fuel price forecast from the U.S. Energy Department shows little change from expectations a month ago for the price of diesel, but the outlook for gasoline has moved a little higher.
The Russian economy is in a recession, with the gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking 3% in 2015. This economic downturn is widespread, with output falling in key sectors of the economy. The overall fleet demand in the Russian market is down, primarily due to the volatility in the exchange rates for the ruble and its impact on new-vehicle pricing.
Plan ahead for the future and have discussions with your senior management about costs and what the future has in store for your fleet. While it looks like the cost of a gallon of gasoline may be going down, the cost of everything else is going to go up.
Expectations for diesel and gasoline prices for next year have been revised lower, according to the latest Short Term Energy Outlook issued this week by the U.S. Energy Department.
The U.S. Energy Department this week revised its expectations for fuel prices this year, but they aren’t expected to go wildly higher.
Fleet ordering for the 2016 model-year is forecast to be flat compared to the prior model-year. Many fleets have “caught up” with replacing aging vehicles due to extended services during the post-recession model-years slowdown in new-vehicle purchases.