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Market Trends Blog for Construction Fleets

Our senior editor and fleet expert, Mike Antich, offers opinions and ideas on the Fleet Market Trends. Mike’s highly-read Blog, focuses on the overall fleet industry and draws interesting comments from construction fleet managers and other industry professionals from across the country.

High-Dollar Fleet Incentives are Decreasing Net Depreciation

April 12, 2001

For the past three years, the high volume of new-vehicle incentives that auto manufacturers are using to stimulate retail sales has exerted downward pressure on used-vehicle prices. On the other hand, the aggressive fleet incentives that have been in play since 2001 are starting to have the opposite effect on fleet resale values by helping to lower net depreciation expense. For instance, last year, fleets began to remarket vehicles that came into service during the post-9/11 period of aggressiv

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Thursday, April 12, 2001 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Fleet Policy Exceptions Increase Corporate Liability Exposure

April 8, 2001

What if your company is sued over a vehicle-related problem caused by an employee driver? If this should happen, it is important to know that subsequent legal decisions may be based on prior precedents and exceptions you have made to your company vehicle policy. You may potentially create a new problem by making an exception in resolving a driver-related problem. The last thing you want to do is to create a new problem in the course of resolving it, and the surest way to do so is to make an exc

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Sunday, April 8, 2001 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Will EZ Pass Become a Pain in the Neck?

April 4, 2001

For fleet managers, EZ Pass is becoming an administrative pain in the neck. More and more fleet managers are reporting an unexplained increase in EZ Pass violations.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Wednesday, April 4, 2001 3:02 PM | » Comments(1)

A Seasonal Remarketing Strategy Will Minimize Vehicle Depreciation Expense

March 4, 2001

One of your top job priorities as a fleet manager is to obtain the highest resale price for each company vehicle you take out of service.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Sunday, March 4, 2001 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Is the UK Controversy Over Driver Privacy a Prelude of What's to Come in the USA?

February 4, 2001

The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU) has threatened legal action against ADT Fire & Security, one of the largest security companies in the United Kingdom, if it installs tracking devices in 1,300 of its 4,300 company vehicles. These 1,300 vehicles are driven by service engineers (who are AEEU members) to service and maintain security systems.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Sunday, February 4, 2001 3:02 PM | » Comments(-1)

You May Be Violating Federal Law When Using Motor Vehicle Records in Hiring Decisions

January 4, 2001

You may be breaking federal law if you are ordering motor vehicle record (MVR) checks through a third-party reporting agency and not following procedures specified by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Thursday, January 4, 2001 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Why the Wholesale Market Looks Good for Used Fleet Vehicles in 2001

December 4, 2000

Currently, we are in the midst of the traditional, seasonal downturn in the used-vehicle market, which has caused resale values to plummet. This is normal and it happens every winter, sometimes a little sooner, sometimes a little later.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Monday, December 4, 2000 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Overloading is No. 1 Cause of Truck Maintenance Problems

November 4, 2000

A disturbing, and ongoing, trend in the fleet industry is increased truck and van maintenance costs because of overloading.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Saturday, November 4, 2000 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

It's Time to Stop Over-Taxing Fleets

October 4, 2000

Under the current Internal Revenue code, business-use passenger cars have a class life of three years, but are assigned to a five-year property recovery class.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Wednesday, October 4, 2000 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Will Internet-Enabled Procurement Systems Lead to FTC Regulations

September 4, 2000

Last June 29 was a watershed date for the emerging "new" fleet management industry. On that date, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a two-day public hearing in Washington, DC, on business-to-business (B2B) Web-based procurement marketplaces because it is concerned about their anti-trust implications. (See my editorial in the June 2000 issue, page 12.) The two best examples of online procurement marketplaces in the automotive industry are Covisint and Roadsmith.com, a fleet-specific exc

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Monday, September 4, 2000 3:02 PM | » Comments(-6)

New Electronic Signature Law Will Save Fleets Money and Streamline Management

August 4, 2000

A new era dawned on June 30, 2000, when President Clinton signed into law a statute that grants electronic signatures and documents the same legal status as handwritten signatures and paper documents.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Friday, August 4, 2000 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Proposed Hours-of-Service Revision a Noble Gesture with Bad Consequences for Fleet

July 4, 2000

Who would argue against saving lives? The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is making this argument as it proposes to rewrite the law that limits a truck driver to working a 15-hour shift, which includes a maximum 10 hours daily driving time.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Tuesday, July 4, 2000 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Many Public Sector Fleets Want a Partnership With Fleet Service Providers

October 11, 1999

I have received a tremendous amount of feedback from public sector fleet managers to the Market Trends column appearing in the August 2002 issue on the need to create a partnership with fleet service providers. You will be able to read many of these comments in the letters to the editor page over the next several issues.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Monday, October 11, 1999 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

The Changing Role of the Public Sector Fleet Manager

October 6, 1999

The role of the public sector fleet manager has been changing over the past 20 years. The genesis of this change can be traced back to the privatization trends in government that emerged in the early 1980s during the Reagan Administration.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Wednesday, October 6, 1999 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

Many Public Sector Fleets Want a Partnership With Fleet Service Providers

October 4, 1999

I have received a tremendous amount of feedback from public sector fleet managers to the Market Trends column appearing in the August 2002 issue on the need to create a partnership with fleet service providers. You will be able to read many of these comments in the letters to the editor page over the next several issues.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Monday, October 4, 1999 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

The Need to Create a Partnership Between Government Fleets & Fleet Service Providers

August 4, 1999

Privatization isn't a new phenomenon among government fleets, but recently it has come to the forefront again following the signing of several prominent outsourcing contracts.

Author: Mike Antich | Posted @ Wednesday, August 4, 1999 3:02 PM | » Comments(0)

AUTHOR BIO

Mike Antich

Editor & Associate Publisher

Mike Antich has been covering the fleet management and vehicle remarketing markets for more than 20 years. During this period, Mike has written or edited more than 4,600 articles on the subjects of fleet management, manufacturer fleet activities, the fleet leasing industry, and vehicle remarketing. He was inducted in the Fleet Hall of Fame in 2010.

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