TMC releases summer survey results

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During the late spring and summer, the American Trucking Association’s Technology and Maintenance Council conducted three surveys in hopes of shedding light on three important challenges fleets face in strategizing and responding to regulatory mandates

Two of the surveys examine the impact of soon-to-be-implemented Environmental Protection Agency regulations, and the third examines the industry’s methods of dealing with a persistent and perennially tight market for technicians.

“These surveys provide TMC with important information on two of the most pressing issues facing fleets today – complying with increasingly stringent emissions regulations and effectively managing technician retention,” said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell. “The results indicate that fleets are cautious about electric alternatives to traditional diesel engines, and fleets may be successful in retaining new technicians if they have a well-thought-out plan in place.”

In September, TMC released the results of two fleet studies designed to measure the impact of greenhouse gas regulations. The first report, “Phase 3 Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Update,” was produced on behalf of the ATA Environmental and Energy Policy Committee to help develop policy positions and opinions on EPA’s Phase 3 GHG regulation. The second report, “The Impact of Emissions Regulations on Commercial Vehicle Procurement,” sought information to assess how commercial vehicle asset mandates may impact early procurement planning for Classes 6-8 vehicles.

The Phase 3 Greenhouse Gases Complementary Report study, which follows on from a previous study conducted in Spring 2023, focused on the deployment of battery electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. The new results indicate that experience in implementing these technologies is very limited, with most fleets showing reluctance to expand or set targets for the limited range of applications. Fleets expect both a significantly longer payback on the purchase of these vehicles compared to current inventory levels, and significant lead times for the development of on-site charging infrastructure due to the necessary modernization of electric services.

The first part of the survey asked about various demographic characteristics of the fleet to determine the nature of the data obtained from the cohort. Responding fleets spanned local, regional and national service areas, covering all geographic areas of the country, with fleet sizes ranging from small to large, and with a variety of operational types and equipment duty cycles.

The remainder of the study examined various aspects of experience and planning for the deployment of BEVs and FCEVs and associated fleet infrastructure. Although less than 1 in 7 fleets indicated that their customers had engaged them in discussions requesting the fleet’s use of BEVs/FCEVs, nearly 40 percent said they were considering adding these vehicles to their fleet. Although very few fleets reported operating electric vehicles, they raised concerns about the equipment meeting their expectations in terms of range, serviceability, charging time, maintainability, durability, cost, feasibility of developing on-site charging infrastructure, and the availability of public charging infrastructure. On a scale from 1 to 5, only durability was rated as slightly higher than neutral in the weighted average – 2.78 – with varying degrees of dissatisfaction with the remaining factors.

The return on investment for EVs is expected to be over seven years, compared to current expectations for an average payback of five years for EVs. Fleets anticipate that most EV maintenance will be outsourced or a combination of in-house and contracted maintenance.

None of the responding fleets indicated that they would rely solely on public charging infrastructure, but most anticipated that they would need both on-site and public charging to support their fleet. With few electric vehicles in service, experience and planning regarding the need for the number and capacity of local charging ports is limited; however, responding fleets report that wait times to obtain the required support from the power grid range from 12-24 months to over 36 months.

Less than a third of fleets expressed their expectations to include electric vehicles in their fleets in the next three years, and they did not include electric vehicle goals in their sustainability plans.

While there was some indication that pre-purchase/low buy was being considered for Class 6 procurement, the majority of fleets operating these classes stated that they would not change their procurement practices. For Class 7, the majority of fleets reported a change in strategy, with a roughly equal split between advance buy, low buy and combination strategies.

Induction practices impact retention of new technicians

The third TMC study was conducted in May and June at the request of the TMC S.5 Fleet Maintenance Management Group. She asked TMC fleet management members at the fleet management level and service provider corporate members to provide information regarding their onboarding practices for newly hired technicians. The results of this survey were presented by a panel of experts at the 2024 TMC Fall Meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina

Respondents reported employing a wide range of technical staff, from as few as three to as many as 3,000 employees, with as few as one or two new employees per month to over 20. The number of stores in operation ranged from less than five to over 20. Most respondents had a documented implementation process ( 78%). Nearly 9 in 10 companies report a retention rate of more than half of their new hires after one year, and half of companies report a retention rate above 75%. Retention rates are only slightly better over a six-month period. The most unfavorable change in retention occurs between the 3rd and 6th month of employment.

A formal technician onboarding process is reported by 72 percent of respondents, with an average of two weeks from hire date to start date. Just over half communicate their process to new employees between the hire date and start date, primarily via email. More than 6 out of 10 people do not prepare the workplace for a new employee until the day of employment. Uniforms are typically ordered on or after commencement day. Half of companies configure a new employee in their IT system on the day of hire, and 35 percent do it a week in advance.

Nine out of 10 companies said they conduct technical training one employee at a time, and almost 80 percent said they use a one-on-one process. Just under half of responding companies said they provide new employees with a “welcome kit” consisting of policies and procedures, as well as company history and related information. All companies said they have formal or informal ways of obtaining feedback from new employees, with 9 in 10 asking for feedback between a week and a month after starting the job. The vast majority of companies said they train their managers in the onboarding process. Peer mentoring programs are reported by 85 percent of respondents, and the majority of these mentors have received formal training or certification. All companies said they assign a mentor to a new employee.

Most companies do not provide new employees with personal tools. Only 4 in 10 employees complete a pre-employment skills assessment. About two-thirds of respondents said they conduct exit interviews, and slightly fewer use the information to update their onboarding processes.

Four in 10 respondents said they pay new technicians a sign-on bonus, typically ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, and nearly 3 in 4 pay current employees a referral bonus.

All survey reports can be found on the TMC public website under the Information Reports section of the Resources menu at https://tmc.trucking.org/study-group-information-reports.