NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Fleet Advantage (FA) is announcing findings from its recent Transportation Industry Benchmark Survey, a comprehensive study of today’s critical issues affecting heavy-duty truck transportation fleets.
“The 2025 data, when compared to the firm’s 2023 benchmark, reveals a significant industry evolution characterized by a massive shift in maintenance strategies, aging equipment risks and a prevailing wait-and-see approach to upcoming regulatory changes,” FA said. “An outlook that also aligns with recent ACT Research forecasts which saw a 5.5% month-over-month increase in 2026 production estimates. This surge suggests that while many remain undecided, a significant segment of the industry is finally moving to ‘pre-buy’ motion, fueled by rising carrier confidence and a desperate need to replace aging assets before the dual pressures of new engine platforms, tariffs and price increases take full effect.”
High-Level Strategic Focus: Profitability and Risk Reduction
“The primary concern for C-suite executives (CEO, CFO, COO) is improving the financial and operational stability of their fleets over the next 3–5 years,” FA said.
- Profitability Lead: Nearly half of respondents (48%) identified improving overall profitability and EBITDA.
- Risk Mitigation: Reducing operational and safety risk is a major priority for nearly a quarter (24%) of leadership teams.
- Organizational Capability/Scale: 38% of leaders are focused on increasing organizational capability to scale fleet size more efficiently.
- Cross-Departmental Alignment: Surprisingly, only 10% of respondents see improving cross-departmental alignment and communication as a strategic area for the next few years.
Tariffs, Engine Changes and Procurement Uncertainty
“There is a worrying atmosphere of wait and see regarding upcoming regulatory and economic shifts,” FA said.
- High Level of Indecision Due to Mandates: In 2023, over half (52%) were monitoring the CARB pre-buy which has since dissipated. By 2025, this has transformed into widespread paralysis; 45% are now “undecided” on procurement being driven by the combined weight of engine platform changes and tariffs.
- Aggressive Pre-buying: More organizations looking to pull ahead procurement strategies today compared with two years ago. 7% were expediting orders in 2023, which jumped to 24% planning to increase procurement in 2025.
- Unwillingness to Change: Another 24% do not plan to change their procurement schedule regardless of increasing costs.
Financial Pain Points: From Supply to Stability
“The nature of what keeps organization executives up at night has shifted from procurement challenges (two years ago) to the financial implications today.” FA said.
- TCO Metrics: In 2025, 45% had difficulty accurately calculating and tracking key metrics like Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) or Cost Per Mile (CPM).
- Volatility: While fuel was a concern in both years, 2025 shows a sharper focus on costly unpredictable M&R costs (62%) and high interest rates (38%).
Full-Service Leasing Disenchantment
“The attributes of being in an FSL have created new challenges for organizations with transportation fleets,” FA said.
- Procurement: In 2023, 15% of companies utilized Full-Service Leases. Although the use of FSL changed to 27% in 2025, the data reveals a buyer’s remorse trend. The initial appeal of FSL has been eclipsed by a desire for greater operational control due to the realization of financial constraint.
- The Escapees: In 2025, 17% of respondents are actively trying to escape their full-service contracts due to inflexible costs, a specific pain point not highlighted as heavily in 2023.
Maintenance Data Shifts Strategy In-House vs. Party Providers and KPIs
“The 2025 survey highlights a noticeable reversal in how organizations manage truck maintenance—a shift that fundamentally alters the TCO landscape,” FA said.
- In 2023, 70% of fleets managed maintenance In-House and only 30% utilized Third-Party providers. By 2025, those figures had become almost completely inverted: 65.5% of fleets now outsource, while In-House operations plummeted to 34.5%. This change correlates with the industry’s cooling sentiment toward Full-Service Leases. As organizations move away from FSL, they are increasingly seeking the flexibility of Unbundled Leases that allow them to choose their own high-performing third-party partners.
- This shift is further reinforced by the KPIs now prioritized by operations teams. According to the 2025 data, Maintenance Cost per Mile/Hour has emerged as the second most vital metric for measuring operational success, cited by 72% of respondents. This further explains why the transition from FSL to Unbundled structures is gaining momentum; fleets want the transparency to manage these high-priority costs directly rather than having them buried in a monthly lease payment.
Fleet Age and Safety Correlation
“The data shows an aging fleet that is beginning to impact operations,” FA said.
- Aging Equipment: In 2023, only 37% of organizations with transportation fleets had more than 150 trucks that were 5+ years old. By 2025, the pressure of holding trucks longer is evident, with 55% of organizations now running trucks for more than 5 years as a standard.
- Safety Erosion: This aging is no longer just a financial metric; 45% of 2025 respondents now admit older trucks are moderately or significantly impacting fleet safety performance.
Regulatory Complexities
“The heavy-duty transportation fleet industry has moved from a period of supply-chain recovery into a new era of deep financial and regulatory complexity,” said Matthew Wiedmeyer, CTP, senior director of asset performance and maintenance at Fleet Advantage. “With nearly half of the industry’s leadership currently paralyzed by uncertainty regarding upcoming engine changes and tariffs, the difference between profitability and operational risk now lies in the ability to transition from a reactive procurement strategy to precision asset management. As we see here at the TMC event, there is a massive surge in maintenance reliance and a direct correlation between aging equipment and increased safety incidents; it is clear that clean, actionable data is no longer a luxury—it is the only way for fleets to set multi-year planning to accurately calculate Total Cost of Ownership and make the high-stakes strategic decisions required to protect their margins over the next five years.”
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Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
