Fleet decision makers across Europe are facing an unprecedented winter of high fuel costs, driver shortages, and continuing fears of a global recession that is likely to make 2023 one of their most challenging years to date. Here is what a research conducted by Solera found out.
1. Fuel costs are the number one challenge fleet leaders are worried about heading into 2023 (59%), rising to 66% of last-mile fleets, where fuel represents a much bigger proportion of overall costs. More then half of fleets (76%) say their fuel costs have increased in the past six months, with oil prices set to rise even higher next year.
2. At the same time, almost a quarter (22%) of fleet decision-makers are concerned about the impact a global recession will have on their drivers in 2023. Fleets in Spain (33%), Portugal (29%), and Austria (28%) are the most concerned about a looming economic crisis.
3. Driver shortages are the second biggest challenge facing fleets entering the new year (25%), rising to 35% in Austria 33% in Germany, and 30% in the UK. While staff shortages are still a major concern, a third of fleets also reported that driving satisfaction levels had increased in the past six months, indicating that their efforts to improve the driver experience are beginning to pay off.
4. Extremely high customer expectations. Whilst fleets have been dealing with surges in demand before the pandemic, consumer expectations are continuing to skyrocket. According to Solera’s study, 79% of fleet managers indicate that they need to make deliveries faster and more efficiently to meet rising customer demands. Over half (60%) also said the volume of deliveries they were expected to make had also increased in the past six months.
Technology seems to be the solution to address these conditions, improve overall growth, as well as enhance driver experience and safety. Check out with the Transpoco team how we can make your life easier in these difficult times.
