GreenRoad published results from a “Fleet Leader 2013 Outlook” study. According to the study, the majority of fleet leaders, 54%, are “cautiously optimistic” about 2013, only 11% are “very optimistic,” and nearly a one-third, 30%, identify themselves as “neutral” about the year ahead. Nearly all fleet leaders, 70%, think the price of fuel will “modestly” rise in 2013, while 81%, cite “reducing fleet fuel expenses” as a significant or very significant fleet challenge.

The report recaps the opinions of today’s fleet leaders, representing fleets of all sizes from less than 25 vehicles to more than 1,000. These fleet leaders manage a broad range of fleet types across various industries, from public transit and school buses, to government, utility, construction, private delivery, business services and white collar fleets.

Although fleet leaders are cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, the underlying reasons for their outlooks vary. Less than one-half, 43%, cite positive reasons for their outlook, while 47% cite negative concerns.

Most pressing concerns include the economy not recovering quickly enough or not at all; fuel costs remaining high or uncertainty around fuel costs; and limiting budget and resource constraints. Meanwhile, most positive reasons are related to anticipating new fleet technology implementations; adding new, fuel efficient vehicles to the fleet; seeing positive economic indicators; and having strong teams and well-trained drivers in-place.

“Overall we are encouraged by the optimism being expressed by fleet leaders,” said Tanya Roberts, senior vice president of marketing for GreenRoad. “However, they still see plenty of challenges ahead. Fleet leaders remain concerned about fuel costs and macro-economic uncertainties,and they are interested in new, energy-efficient vehicles and new fleet technology implementations, such as driver performance management, that can mitigate these rising costs.”

For the full report, click here.