TMC/FleetNet vertical benchmarking program highlights latest roadside repair challenges
The American Trucking Associations' (ATA) Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) and FleetNet America presented their quarterly executive summary regarding unscheduled roadside repairs for the truckload industry vertical, covering April through June (Q2) 2019.
Two key takeaways from the summary are:
- Power plant VMRS system codes were among the top five repairs, the first time this VMRS category was included in the top-five list.
- Operational miles between breakdowns were 15 percent higher than the previous quarter.
Five VMRS systems (tires, lighting, brakes, exhaust, and power plant) accounted for the majority (59 percent) of all roadside repairs of those fleets participating in the report for Q2 2019. Power plant (045) was among this bracket of systems reported for the first time since the benchmarking program launched in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Participating truckload carriers traveled 166,643 miles between power plant repairs in Q2 2019, compared to the 341,614 miles between power plant repairs in Q2 2018. This marks a 51 percent decline in miles between repair through the year-over-year observation.
Electronic engine controls (045-021) were the most frequently repaired power plant assembly of Q2 2019, with a 36 percent increase in roadside EEC repairs from Q2 2018.
With regard to overall mileage between breakdowns for participating fleets, truckload carriers operated 9,546 miles between unscheduled roadside failures in Q2 2019. While this number is an increase of 15 percent more miles between roadside breakdowns compared to Q1 2019, it does show a downward trend compared to Q2 2018 reports of 9,494 miles between breakdowns.
The program
The TMC/FleetNet America vertical benchmarking program is a member benefit provided by ATA’s TMC. The benchmarking program is designed to help TMC’s members better understand reasons behind unscheduled roadside repairs and identify opportunities to refine and improve their maintenance operations.
Participating truckload carriers agreed to provide all of their unscheduled roadside repairs to a common data warehouse. The repairs were accurately VMRS coded by facilities authorized by the TMC. FleetNet America built and maintains the data warehouse and provides participating fleets with a web-based business intelligence tool that allows each fleet to drill into their data to see how it compares to the cohort average.
