Inflation’s Impact on Fleets Revealed in Recent Utilimarc Survey

On October 11, Utilimarc released the results of their most recent survey covering 2022 Fleet Inflation rates. The survey was run in partnership with Xcel Energy, a utilities company based in Minnesota, and studied how recent inflation has affected the ways in which fleets operate and manage rising costs.

In general, the record high inflation rates and fuel costs have led fleet managers to take a more careful approach to capital spending. Of the fleets reported to utilize fuel hedging today, two-thirds were not using that same strategy last year. This shows the increase in caution that managers have had to take to protect their fleets from high, volatile fuel prices.

Buying fuel in bulk is another proven strategy that 70 percent of fleets reported using to their advantage. While only 39 percent are using exclusively bulk fuel, the other 31 percent used a combination of cheaper, bulk fuel with retail fuel. This could be an unavoidable reality for vehicles with long routes who must stop to refuel before returning to the fleet yard.

Managers are also being proactive, with 88 percent updating fleet rates more than once throughout the year. Other strategies include closely monitoring fleet costs by group, such as fuel, labor, parts and depreciation, and negotiating surcharges from outside vendors when possible.

To read the full 2022 Fleet Inflation Survey results, view the report here.