Fleet Advantage reported several achievements and milestones from its fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, including lease origination volume of $660 million and a portfolio of more than $1.5 billion in assets under management.

Driven by pent-up consumer demand, healthier personal savings accounts, ongoing federal stimulus measures and a rise in COVID-19 vaccination rates, many businesses have accelerated their reopening plans throughout 2021. According to a report from the Associated Press, citing data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. economy will expand by 6.9% this year, a staunch increase from a decline of 3.5% in 2020. According to Fleet Advantage, this is causing many organizations to look to upgrade their heavy-duty truck fleets to handle the demand from shipping partners and customers.

Since its founding 12 years ago, Fleet Advantage’s focus on helping transportation fleets shorten their trucks’ life cycles has helped build a Class-8 fleet with an average age of 2.5 years and an average distance driven of 267,000 miles compared with industry averages of 6.3 years and 610,000 miles with average driving MPG of more than seven.

Newer Trucks Equal Safer Trucks

Through its Safety First Program, Fleet Advantage provides safety technologies such as collision avoidance, lane departure and blind spot assistance to keep drivers and other motorists safer while also reducing exposure to expensive litigation. According to a June 2020 report by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), between 2010 and 2018, the average verdict amount rose by nearly $20 million.

According to Fleet Advantage, for fiscal 2020, the company achieved the following Class 8 fleet customer safety metrics:

• • 95% collision avoidance
  • 98% lane departure
  • 81% blindspot assistance

Driving Sustainability Goals Within the Industry

Shortened life cycles are also having a direct and distinct impact on corporate sustainability measures. Fleet Advantage’s efforts have been focused on driving sustainability throughout its organization and that of its client partners by working with customers to lessen their overall environmental impact and execute on their sustainability goals. As a result, the company has aimed at reducing fleet CO2 through the implementation of clean-diesel truck technologies. These measures are critical, with Pieter Tans of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), telling USA Today that “we are adding roughly 40 billion metric tons of CO2 pollution to the atmosphere per year.”

Fleet Advantage recently helped two top 100 fleets eliminate more than 55,000 metric tons of CO2 and conserve more than 5 million gallons of fuel. At $3 per gallon of diesel, that equates to improved MPG and more than $16 million in reduced fuel expenditures.

“There is a significant bounce-back of activity in many businesses, which is increasing demand for both new and used trucks to handle the shipment of goods across the country,” John Flynn, CEO of Fleet Advantage, said. “Our new purchases, combined with off-lease used sales, exceeded 6,000 Class 8 tractors. Our model of clean-diesel and safety-enhanced trucks with shorter life cycles and flexible finance options complements what many of our customers are seeking in the market, including ESG (economic and social governance). The last 12 months were challenging, but our team remained committed to excellence and customer service, and we’re proud of the fact we operated responsibly and maintained full employment while helping our customers navigate such a difficult period.”

Fleet Advantage also continued its work through its charitable program, Kids Around the Corner, providing financial support with multiple charities over the last 12 months.

Editor’s Note: The original version of this post indicated that these results were from fiscal 2021 instead of fiscal 2020 and that Fleet Advantage achieved lease origination volume of $600 million instead of $660 million. Monitor apologizes for these errors.