december2022 - 21

Since the spring of 2020, trucks, trailers, and
tires have all been more difficult to come by. Raw
materials and components such as semiconductors
became harder to obtain, and plants shut
down to stop the spread of the pandemic. This
led to mounting backlogs and trucks waiting for
repair parts.
But for the foreseeable future, the dozen or so
manufacturers we contacted indicated these issues
have disappeared or become more infrequent.
" The long delays are pretty much behind us, "
Clinkenbeard said on behalf of Wabash. But what
about the rest of the heavy-duty trucking industry?
Here's what industry experts, along with leading
OEMs and OEs serving the heavy-duty market,
are saying about their sectors, which should help
fleets and shops prepare for the coming year.
Truck outlook
How will the amount of new Class 8 trucks on
the road in 2023 be impacted by the tumultuous
economic situation? After non-vocational Class 8
truck sales rebounded from 168,600 in 2021 to
198,800 in 2022, next year they will dip 12.4% to
174,000, according to Act Research's market data.
" For now, business activity in the truck industry
rolls on, seemingly unphased by higher interest
rates, " said Eric Crawford, VP and senior analyst at
ACT Research. " That said, we expect this dynamic
to shift in [the first half of FY 2023], as the Fed
continues its aggressive push to subdue inflation.
Cracks in the economy are becoming more
evident: The impact of higher rates has begun
to slow activity in the housing sector, and large
layoffs have started in the tech sector. "
Daimler Truck North America, which makes
the market leader Freightliner (40% share), noted
several external forces will impact the market.
" The company's outlook is especially subject to
the further developments in the Russia-Ukraine
war and its impact on the global economy as well
as the development of the very high inflationary
pressure and the associated central-bank increases
in interest rates, " said Stefanie Lechner, a DTNA
marketing communications manager focusing on
the aftermarket. " The further macroeconomic,
geopolitical as well as the COVID-19 pandemic
development and ongoing supply bottlenecks,
also harbor an exceptional degree of uncertainty. "
Lechner added, " Daimler Truck assumes no
major production downtimes due to missing parts
or due to the unavailability of gas. "
Fuel may be available, but it is expensive.
" Likely due to fuel prices, on-highway customers
are gravitating toward down-speeding through
integrated drivetrains at an accelerated rate, "
offered Len Copeland, product marketing manager
for DTNA's Detroit brand.
He recommended customers select " ever more
aggressive-or lower-rear axle ratios, which keep
engine rpms lower, requiring less fuel to do the
same work. "
Copeland noted software such as Detroit's Axle
Lube Management can " offer immediate fuel
savings with no driver interaction whatsoever. "
Over at Volvo Trucks North America, the order
board is " healthy " with sales at market level, said
Johan Agebrand, director of product market»
ACT Research projects Class 8 truck sales will drop 12.4% YOY in 2023.
John Hitch | Fleet Maintenance
ing. Agebrand also reported " seeing significant
improvements in the semiconductor and transport
restrictions that we-from a global perspective-ran
into in the economic recovery from the
COVID pandemic. The current situation we are
seeing is now more in relation to labor and capacity
restrictions since the economic environment
has recovered. "
On the trends front, fuel efficiency has been
more of a focus to Volvo customers, Agebrand
said, because of fixed contract rates and decreasing
spot rates.
" When the spot rates were increasing due to
a shortage of transport capacity, the increase in
fuel price in some sense was lost in the increase
in transport rates, " he explained.
Volvo customers who spec a turbo-compound
engine and I-Torque powertrain combination
will have the flexibility to adjust to speed or fuel
efficiency needs, " without sacrificing overall fuel
economy, " Agebrand said.
Overall, a fleet that keeps up with regular maintenance
according to OEM recommendations will
prevent unexpected downtime and keep trucks
moving and generating revenue, Agebrand said.
Investing more time into training drivers will also
yield a good return.
" The driver and how they utilize the truck is
the biggest operating cost impact for any fleet, " he
said. " Good drivers versus bad drivers can easily
have a 10% operating cost difference. "
Navistar International experienced a healthy
2022 and expects continued momentum into
2023 while navigating various component shortages
and production challenges, reported Chet
Ciesielski, VP of on-highway heavy-duty truck
business. " Our strong order intake has created a
very strong backlog, " he added.
The company has seen supply chain improvement
but does " continue to work through challenges, "
Ciesielski ceded.
The International S13 Integrated Powertrain,
which starts production in 2023, will provide
customers with some relief. With the S13, the
latest International LT Series will have 15% better
" Likely due to fuel
prices, on-highway
customers are
gravitating toward
down-speeding through
integrated drivetrains
at an accelerated rate. "
Len Copeland,
Daimler Truck North America
fuel efficiency than one with a first-generation
International A26 engine. CEO Mathias Carlbaum
said this will be the final new internal combustion
engine developed by International.
Ciesielski added that maintenance efficiency
can be improved by leveraging OnCommand
Connection connected vehicle solutions. The
various features help optimize maintenance
(Advanced Predictive Maintenance),
reduce
unplanned repairs (Fleet Health Monitoring), and
drive service event efficiency (International 360).
Fleets are also adopting more advanced driver
assistance systems to prevent nuclear verdicts,
Ciesielski added.
That's a trend also recognized at Paccar Leasing,
which rents and leases Kenworth and Peterbilt
trucks and provides maintenance.
" Among our larger fleet customers, we've seen a
material increase in the demand for refined driver
performance and safety systems to be added to the
vehicles, including adaptive cruise control, collision
mitigation systems, lane departure warning
systems, and side object detection, " Eric Hruby,
PacLease director of operations, said.
PacLease also reported an accelerated adoption
of integrated powertrains and automated manual
transmissions, which Hruby said are sought after
for driver retention and fuel efficiency benefits.
December 2022 | FleetMaintenance.com
21
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december2022

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