Cargo Van Demand Explodes

Cargo vans once served a predominantly niche market of tradesmen, mobile construction sites and vocational contractors, but with the recent demand explosion of final-mile delivery vans they are becoming incredibly common and increasingly popular.  E-commerce doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon, and van manufacturers are happy to keep supplying the growing demand of new vehicles.

 

The evolution of cargo vans has led to increased safety and efficiency.  Dave Sowers, head of commercial marketing at Ram, stated that “Safety features continue to lead the way, allowing for a reduction in cost of ownership and downtime.”  He noted that features such as forward-collision warning and mitigation, blind spot monitoring and a digital rearview mirror have all led to better safety.  The vans have also become more functional in the vehicle’s interior workspace.  The vans have more functional shelving units that can be tailored to either final-mile delivery cargo vans, or the vocational mobile shelving units.  They are also more ergonomic for drivers by replacing the manual parking brake that clogged up interior space with an electronic brake, and added lighting to the interior workspace.

It’s no secret that a global shortage of microchips has put stress on the new vehicle market, but manufacturers have gotten creative to keep up with the increasing demand.  Mercedes-Benz says they’ve been working closely with suppliers on monitoring the chip shortages, but their flexibility between plant operations has allowed to succeed in generating new vehicle supplies.  Drew Walker, Ford’s commercial van brand manager said “We have been finding ways to build units without certain parts and install them later.  There is a mix of what we can build and have to be flexible in our production.  We have driver-assist systems and technology built into our vans making them more sophisticated today with advanced technology and microchips.”

The increased demand is certainly a welcome sign to the vehicle manufacturers, and it reinforces the strength of the e-commerce final mile delivery industry.  We can expect to see final mile delivery continue to grow within the freight industry, particularly considering the growth in the e-commerce sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/cargo-van-manufacturers-take-advantage-last-mile-delivery-industry-grows

Written by:

Daniel is Vice President of Fleet Card Services. His focus is on growing Guttman Energy’s Fleet Card Services business, including our Fuelman Fleet card and Pac Pride commercial fueling operations Daniel’s responsibilities include finding new offerings to enhance our card offering, improving the profitability of the business, and driving growth through both new customer additions and acquisitions of competitive card decks. Prior to his current role, Daniel served as the Manager of Business Development. His previous roles also include data analyst, wholesale and commercial sales, as well as pipeline scheduling. Daniel received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont and has earned educational certificates from the University of Pittsburgh, the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, and Harvard Business School. Daniel Guttman has become the first fourth generation family member to become an executive of the company. Daniel’s great-grandfather founded the Company in 1931.

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