Category: Fleet Management News

• February 16th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Diesel prices have gone up for 11 straight weeks for a cumulative 37.2 cent gain, a 70-cent increase from last year. Current diesel prices have already risen 2.1 cents this week to $3.534 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). This week’s price is the 20th consecutive week prices have been at $3 per gallon or more. Current diesel prices are at their highest level since peaking at $3.659 during the week of October 13, 2008.

Even though oil prices have decreased slightly in recent weeks, some experts are saying that the price per gallon of diesel and regular gasoline could approach the $4 per gallon level, due to higher global demand for oil and the coldest winter in recorded history in many parts of the United States and Europe.

Fuel typically makes up about one-third of trucking companies’ budgets, said Kristen Monaco, an economics professor who specializes in trucking at California State University, Long Beach. However, when diesel prices get this high, the cost of fuel is the number one expense for trucking companies.

• February 15th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Next time you or someone you love is about to be transported in an ambulance to the closest hospital, you might want to hop in the back of the vehicle and give the driver directions using your cel phone GPS navigation system. Why? Because many ambulances are not equipped with a GPS navigation system that gives drivers directions. Instead many ambulances are equipped with a GPS tracking system that is only used to keep track of the vehicle’s location, but this type of global positioning system (GPS) is not able to give driving directions.
It is important to recognize the differences in the capabilities of these two types of GPS tracking systems. What this means is that ambulance drivers are still forced to rely on paper maps to get to and from emergency destinations in a hurry. In emergency situations, every minute counts. This isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring and seems a bit archaic.

• February 12th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Fleet tracking is the use of GPS and telematics technology to identify, locate and monitor one or more fleet vehicles in real-time. A modern fleet tracking system can help any business that requires the use of a vehicle to get the job done. This includes a wide variety of businesses – anything from a construction company, an HVAC company, and any type of a delivery service – from flowers to serving court papers. A vehicle fleet tracking system combines the installation of an electronic GPS tracking device in a vehicle, or fleet of vehicles, with web-based computer software. This enables a fleet manager to track a vehicle’s location in real-time, collecting all sorts of data in the process – from vehicle diagnostics to driver speeding alerts.

• February 11th, 2011
• Aurielle Destiche

Don’t like standing around waiting for the bus? Me either, especially when it’s freezing cold or raining outside. For some lucky students at Lehigh University, a new type of GPS fleet tracking system is being installed in the school’s fleet of school buses. The new GPS fleet tracking system will enable students to track where their bus is in real-time, so they can spend their time waiting indoors instead of outside at the bus stop. Better yet, the service is free for students!

• February 7th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

More and more companies and cities across America are using a GPS tracking system to keep tabs on where employees are during work hours. Privacy experts say it is totally legal. Across the US, little black boxes are being tucked into vehicle dashboards. Why? Because installing a gps fleet tracking system into a fleet vehicle saves money, controls costs and keeps employees on the right track. It is not the kind of GPS system most people have in their car, but a black box that tracks where a car has been.

Managers really like the ability to monitor employees in real-time during work hours. There have been several instances where a GPS fleet tracking system has helped catch employees doing things they aren’t supposed to be doing. One fleet manager found an employee on the golf course when he was supposed to be working! Another employer caught an employee moving furniture with a company truck during business hours. One employee was busted after he put his moto-cross bike in his 18-wheeler big rig truck and went to the motorcycle racing track while on the job.

• February 3rd, 2011
• Jackson Parker

With FieldLogix, fleet management is no longer left in the dark wondering where their drivers are or what they are doing. A real-time fleet tracking system can empower you to better optimize, manage and capitalize from your fleet’s activities. Different fleets have different reasons for using FieldLogix: fuel costs are reduced, drivers are more safe and also held more accountable, improved customer service, lower maintenance costs, tax reporting needs, increased fleet productivity.

• February 2nd, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Gas prices have steadily been rising since December. Gas prices are expected to keep rising due to two primary reasons:

1) The cost of oil is expected to increase due to political upheaval in the Middle East, particularly Egypt and Tunisia. Egypt is not a major oil-producing country, but about 2 million barrels of oil pass daily through the Suez Canal, which is controlled by Egypt. The outcome of the political turmoil in Egypt will certainly have an effect on gas prices. The situation may end quickly or the uprising may spread, no one knows at this point.