Large Equipment Fleets Fare Better: Survey

Nov. 3, 2020

Preliminary data from the Construction Equipment 2021 Annual Report & Forecast show a marked difference in the condition of a fleet of construction equipment based on its estimated replacement value (ERV). Managers of large fleets, defined as those with ERV greater than $10 million, report better fleet health than their smaller siblings.

Across all fleet sizes, 10 percent of the 400 equipment professionals responding described their fleet’s condition as “excellent.” The percentage among large fleets was slightly higher, 10.7 percent. Combining the top two responses—“very good” and “excellent”—provide a clearer look at the condition of the nation’s fleets. More than half of total respondents, or 52.8 percent, described their fleet condition as “excellent” or “very good.” Among large fleets, the number was 67.9 percent, or about two-thirds of fleets in top-notch health. Among the smallest fleets—those with ERV less than $500,000—less than half of respondents, 43.0 percent, describe their fleet condition as “excellent” or “very good.”

The bottom portion of the health scale also shows a dichotomy between the large and the small. Of the large fleets, 4.8 percent report fleet condition as “fair” or “poor,” with none citing “poor” as a descriptor. On the small end, 9.3 percent says fleet condition is “fair” or “poor,” with 0.9 percent labeling it “poor.”

“The pandemic put a pause—or at least a pump on the brakes—on fleet plans,” said Rod Sutton, editorial director of Construction Equipment. “The danger, of course, is that delayed replacement threatens overall fleet health. Based on responses at the end of 2020, most fleet managers should be positioned to absorb a short delay.”

CE partners with Case Construction Equipment on the Annual Report & Forecast, which has been an industry exclusive for 30 years. The complete report, published in January, will include detailed analysis of construction equipment fleet economics and management trends. Also included will be an industry report on business trends as well as analysis of transportation, water infrastructure, nonresidential, and residential construction markets.