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Increased Demand from the Commercial Trucking Industry Puts the Service Industry on the Fast Track
PALO ALTO, Calif.-(Business Wire)-June 18, 2008 - The North American commercial fleet industry faces rising fuel costs, new vehicle-related legislation and mounting service demands. Currently, the industry's practices are incapable of dealing with the mounting workload.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.automotive.frost.com), Maximizing Opportunities in a Challenging Service Industry, finds that the commercial fleet industry faces several challenges with severe implications for the market. How commercial fleets choose to deal with these issues will affect their profitability and service effectiveness.
If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of opportunities in a challenging service industry, then send an e-mail to Sara Villarruel, Corporate Communications, at sara.villarruel@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.
An economy that depends heavily on the movement of goods requires a reliable on-road transportation system. Efficiency has gained greater importance as freight volumes have grown. In the near term, freight volumes will likely grow at an annual rate of six percent and profits will continue to be squeezed.
The increasing demand for replacement services and maintenance support strains the aftermarket service industry. This presents numerous challenges and several attractive opportunities.
"The North American heavy-duty truck aftermarket currently offers tremendous growth opportunities to both the product and service segments," says Frost & Sullivan Senior Consultant Mary-Beth Kellenberger. "The distribution structure faces changes to the competitive landscape and market dynamics, while the product side must adapt to pressures emanating from increasing vehicle electronic content and the introduction of proprietary technologies by truckmakers."
Proactive and innovative service companies can turn this situation to their advantage by creating new structures that can better manage rising operating costs, technology complexity, inventory management issues, and the rising influence of original equipment manufacturers.
The decline in the number of fleets performing on-site repairs and complex system maintenance has increased opportunities for independent repair facilities and dealers. Central to this repair equation is the availability of qualified technicians. Even though the overall number of technicians will likely increase, industry participants remain concerned about the decreased skill level and quality of technicians available in the commercial vehicle industry. Low wages, a dirty work environment, and lack of resources continue to deter workers.
The industry has to stop relying on market forces to provide technicians and must make concerted efforts to procure the necessary talent. Participants must devise viable and cost-effective talent retention strategies as repair services become increasingly competitive.
"The service industry must look at the ways in which it can secure as well as foster existing talent to support the growing repair demand," notes Kellenberger. "The time is right to test the waters with new strategies for talent retention, technician development and service delivery."
Maximizing Opportunities in a Challenging Service Industry is part of the Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: North American light vehicle automotive and North American heavy-duty trucks. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's TEAM Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership(TM) empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com. Maximizing Opportunities in a Challenging Service Industry N40E
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