By John Moery, MacKay & Company
Since 1998 MacKay & Company has generated quadrennial reports of the truck and trailer service labor market associated with nearly 600 components. The latest of these service studies was released in early 2016.
What are some common trends in truck service requirements among fleet operators and their relationship to current service practices among providers?
Among all respondents to the Truck and Trailer Service Study in 2015, reported overall average acceptable wait time to begin major repair of a down vehicle was 34 hours.
Responses from for-hire, refuse, lease/ rental and private fleets comprised a bit more than half the total who thought an acceptable wait time to be just 20 hours to the beginning of service. Furthermore, vehicle downtime was identified by more than one-third of service study respondents as their number one concern when turning to outside providers of truck service, outranking both cost and quality of procured service in importance.
In order for the repair to commence, the part has to be on hand. In the current world of internet ordering in which we live, for a fee, your order can arrive in two days. Sometimes earlier. The remarkable part of this, it doesn’t matter what you order — could be Q-tips, could be brake pads — two days at your doorstep.
This is not a new concept for those in the business of repairing vehicles.
