The Fleet Lead

It’s nearly time for 2027 equipment. What's new?

For another editors' roundtable, The Fleet Lead looks at the equipment, regulatory, and technological shifts heading toward carriers: Volvo’s rugged new vocational truck reveal, the latest heavy-duty NOx rules, and new PC-12 engine oil formulations.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 – Welcome to the 2027 equipment preview
• 0:46 – Volvo’s all-new VNX truck and driving...

Time may be undefeated, but fleets can still win by using quality parts and keeping a disciplined approach to maintenance that foucses on total cost of ownership, explained our latest guests on The Fleet Lead: STEMCO's Drew Coen and Todd DiMascio.

They explored the realities of maintaining an aging commercial vehicle fleet, explaining to host John Hitch that against the backdrop of a shifting freight market and rising asset costs, ...

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of October 8

• C.H. Robinson acquired RXO Freight for $5.8 billion
• The White House's red diesel and tax referralls
• Autonomous developers received a long-term waiver for their warning beacons
• Waabi has its first operation with Volvo Autonomous Solutions
• Kodiak launched a new autonomous freight operation in Texas
• Spot market rates rose across the board
• In fuel, the price of dies...

Jason McDaniel sits down with Spencer Tenney, President and CEO of the Tenney Group, to unpack the hidden dynamics shaping bulk transportation mergers and acquisitions.

Private equity firms are opening their playbooks to heavy assets. What does it really take to maximize fleet value? Succession planning is evolving beyond traditional family handoffs. Court rulings are turning safety records into major financial leverage. Plus, Tenn...

Summer heat can expose cooling system problems that have been developing for months, including improper glycol concentration, contamination, coolant loss, and degraded coolant chemistry.

Fleet Maintenance Editor-in-Chief John Hitch talks with Max Cundiff, industrial sector manager at Chevron, about the role coolant testing and sampling can play in fleet maintenance and how fleets can use those results to identify potential problems...

One of the most persistent headaches facing commercial fleet executives? Driver retention and turnover. In this episode, editors from FleetOwner, Fleet Maintenance, and Bulk Transporter talk about the new premium on high-quality, fully compliant drivers.

From the rising financial toll of onboarding new hires to the debates surrounding the true nature of the "driver shortage," this roundtable unpacks what it really takes to build a ...

Here are the headlines from this week in trucking as of August 27:

• Chris Spear suddenly left the American Trucking Associations
• The trade war with Canada is bad news for freight demand
• Missouri started a $33 million project for truck parking on I-70
• Descartes acquired a broker TMS for $100 million
• A new private equity operation is buying up carriers
• CVSA released its International Roadcheck enforcement results
• Kodiak and Auror...

What has kept the Chevrolet Express driving strong for nearly three decades? In this episode of The Fleet Lead, Jade Brasher and Jeremy Wolfe dive into a hands-on review of GM's iconic commercial van after an unexpected rental car test drive.

The van is certainly unique in the U.S., from its analog interior to its body-on-frame construction. Here's why this workhorse is still a top seller for commercial fleets—and what might ...

John Hitch hosts Kristy Coffman, director of Mitchell 1’s commercial vehicle group, about the 20-year evolution of multi-brand truck repair software like TruckSeries.

John and Kristy explore how modern diagnostic tools and interactive wiring diagrams help bridge the technician training gap, the responsible integration of emerging AI and what wearable tech in repair shops  means for the future of commercial maintenance.

...

Can AI predict a vehicle breakdown 10 days before it happens?

John Hitch welcomes Shiva Bhardwaj, SVP of product at Fullbay and former founder of Pitstop, to discuss how machine learning and telematics are changing fleet maintenance.

FullBay is combining predictive algorithms with shop management software to streamline remote diagnostics, pre-order parts, and minim...

Autonomous truck developer Kodiak AI is expanding its partnership with its milestone partner Atlas Energy Solutions.

Atlas was one of the nation's first commercial autonomous deployments, where Atlas ran its own fleet of Kodiak-powered Peterbilts to haul frac sand in the Permian Basin.

This year, Kodiak has already scaled Atlas’s fully autonomous fleet to 35 trucks running 24/7 without a driver in the cab—and the compan...

In this roundtable episode, the Fleet Lead's editors break down the latest ATRI report on the rising operational costs in trucking.

From equipment pre-buys to AI in the shop and driver retention strategies, here is where operational costs are headed and what fleets can anticipate next.

Timestamps:

• 01:33 - Driver quality and fleet retention
• 03:43 - Rising maintenance expenses
• 05:35 - Tanker carrier margins are doing good
• 07:14 ...