Glassboro, NJ – June 2010 – The economy is showing sparks of improvement and Reuters is cautiously predicting that the worst recession since the Great Depression could end early as late 2010. As business picks up, many managers are looking forward to replacing aging straight-trucks in their company’s fleet. But budgets are tight, and the price of new trucks has risen sharply. One proven solution, the Demountable Truck Body System, by Demountable Concepts, combats new truck sticker shock by boosting fleet productivity so fewer truck chassis are needed to accomplish the same amount of work.
Since the recession was declared official in 2007, to keep costs low, many companies have been forced to patch-up straight-trucks that routinely would have been replaced in better economic times. As those trucks age, they grow costlier and less fiscally prudent to maintain. Safety concerns and breakdowns also nibble away at driver morale and productivity. These factors, along with the desire to be at-the-ready when the predicted economic uptick happens, add a sense of urgency to new truck purchasing timelines.
To complicate the issue further, as fleet managers begin to think about replacing trucks, new vehicle prices are escalating rapidly. Recent federally mandated 2010 emission standards alone have added between $6,000 and $9,000 to the price of a new truck. Plus, material, financing rates and taxes are also increasing in cost, driving truck prices even higher. From a business operations standpoint, increases in fuel, insurance, toll, maintenance and tire replacement expenses combine with soft business over the last few years to make budgeting for new trucks a daunting challenge.
Managers are under real pressure to improve fleet efficiency and incorporate cost-control strategies into purchasing plans because tough times have made top management reluctant to green-light simply replacing older trucks with new ones.
More Productivity for Every Dollar Spent on New Trucks
The Demountable Truck Body System is a solution fleet managers can implement to get the most value from their company’s investment in new straight-trucks. Adding the ability to “swap” freestanding cargo bodies empowers delivery operations to accomplish the same, or in some cases more work, with fewer trucks. With the System, loading and delivering can be carried out simultaneously to eliminate worker and driver downtime. Bodies standing on retractable legs are loaded at the warehouse, while the truck delivers goods using another body. When deliveries are complete, the truck returns and swaps its empty body for a loaded body utilizing a hydraulic lift and lock-down system mounted in the chassis. After a few minutes, the truck returns to making deliveries, while loading freight into bodies continues at the warehouse.
With proper planning, downtime and time spent loading and unloading trucks is transformed into additional deliveries per day for each truck. Bruce Kronman, president of New York based Center Moriches Paper, a supplier of janitorial, food service and packaging supplies, sums up the cost saving potential of demountables by saying, “We’ve been using the System for 25 years. It has allowed us to reduce the number of trucks in our fleet from 16 to eight.”
One Chassis and Two Bodies Outperform Two Straight-Trucks
Instead of purchasing two new trucks with fixed bodies, a single straight-truck chassis/cab and two bodies fitted out with the Demountable System can do the same work better, at a significantly lower price. Since the system can be integrated into van, flat bed, curtain-side and container-transport bodies, specialized trucks that often see only occasional use can also be replaced. A second option available to fleet managers is to install the System onto existing fleet chassis and bodies that are in good condition, which frees-up the vehicles in the poorest state for sale or retirement.
Along with lowering the investment required for acquisition, the System slashes costs and improves performance on the operations side of the business. A single chassis and cab are less expensive to register, insure and maintain than two trucks. Since utilizing demountable bodies improves efficiency, fewer drivers and workers are necessary, which lessens payroll costs. Bodies can be loaded independent of the truck so loading can be done during the regular workday to eliminate overtime expenses and rush loading. Body swapping also brings flexibility to schedules to make accommodating rush orders easier and tightens-up the order-through-delivery cycle so goods get to customers sooner.
Demountable Concepts offers case studies and a complementary, no-obligation savings analysis to companies interested getting the most value from their straight-truck investment.
Established in 1989, Demountable Concepts, Inc. is North America’s premier manufacturer and supplier of the Demountable Truck Body System for straight-trucks and the Warehouse on Wheels Portable Distribution Center. Their clients include general and furniture retailers, building supply, lumber and millwork manufacturers, beverage distributors, food service and snack food companies, party rental suppliers, nurseries and others.
Find out more about Demountable Truck Body Systems by visiting www.demount.com, or contacting Demountable Concepts, Inc. via phone at 1-800-254-3643 or email at sales@demount.com.
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