The purpose of owning a company is to generate profits, and when it comes to owning a construction company, fleet management is one of the biggest expenditures. Fortunately for you, there is a way to cut down in this area.
Whether you own a small landscaping business or a corporate construction firm, a fleet rental service can offer you these major benefits
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Save Money
When it comes to owning vehicles for your construction company, between monthly payments, insurance, fuel, and maintenance, you could spend well over $15,000 a year. The average annual cost of owning a pickup truck is just over $10,000, but that’s for a commuter. When the vehicle is used for construction, you’re looking at closer to $20,000. Most of that cost is related to fuel and maintenance, aside from the monthly payment.
So, the main reason you might want to consider renting your work trucks is to cut out that monthly loan payment so you can better afford maintenance and fuel. For construction companies, you can’t get by with cars, but fleet rental services can offer 4×4 trucks, 1-ton flatbeds, and even flatbed semi-trailers for hauling heavy equipment.
The other cost savings occur upfront. If you’re a new company, you likely don’t have enough capital to secure financing for the number of vehicles needed in your fleet. And if you’re established, there’s still a chance you can’t afford to own every type of vehicle necessary for construction. For example, what if you have a crane that sits stationary on the job site for months? Do you want to pay the cost of its towing equipment sitting idle? What about on a wind farm when you have 20 workers on-site who all need company vehicles? Can you finance all of those vehicles?
Another expensive aspect of fleet ownership is maintenance and replacements. When you rent your fleet, you are still responsible for maintaining it, but when one is nearing the end of its life, you can simply trade it in with the rental company. Keeping your fleet running smoothly is imperative, regardless of how you go about acquiring it.
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Save Hassle
Perhaps the biggest draw to fleet rental is that it offers flexibility, which can also save you money. No matter the nature of your construction company, sometimes your needs change. You may start off only needing a few trucks, but as you expand, so should your fleet. Using a fleet rental service allows you to ebb and flow without the impact of absorbing new loans.
Say in two years you need to add a dozen workers who all need a company vehicle. If you’re already using a fleet rental agency, you can call them up and put in an order for however many more vehicles you need. Another example is if you have fleet trucks that aren’t heavily utilized but every so often you need it. If you rent that vehicle, you only pay for it when it’s in use as opposed to paying monthly payments, premiums, and storage fees when it’s sitting idle. The other advantage is that renting it prevents the vehicle from sitting, thus minimizing the chance of mechanical failures that can result when trucks sit unused.
How else does that save you hassle? Because the fleet company can also deliver, transport, and pick up vehicles with a simple phone call. It saves you time (and money) because you won’t have to wait for weeks for financing to be approved.
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Save Your Fleet Manager
No matter the size of your company’s fleet, you’re probably going to have someone on board who manages it. There’s a person watching fuel consumption and tracking miles. That same person is keeping track of maintenance schedules and making service appointments. And they’re likely using a fleet management program to do it. Wouldn’t it be nice if the vehicles you used came equipped with advanced technology to better assist the fleet manager?
Some fleet rental companies offer vehicles with the newest technology and AI that can be useful for fleet management. Tools include programs that track fuel efficiency, fluid levels, and sensor reports (telematics). These programs then report information to the fleet manager that aids in scheduling regular maintenance when it’s really needed, not just because it’s been three months. The programs also tell the fleet manager the overall health of the fleet and he or she can use certain information, like fuel efficiency stats, to provide further training to drivers. This technology is a wonderful resource but purchasing vehicles equipped with it can be costly.
Using a fleet rental service can be beneficial to your construction company in multiple ways, but the bottom line is that it affects YOUR bottom line. Whether you’re just starting out or expanding your current fleet, it might be worth your time to research whether renting is a better option for your company.
