AI Curiosity, Aging Equipment, and Rising Costs: What Fleetio’s 2026 Report Reveals
Fleetio is a fleet maintenance and asset management software company based in Birmingham, Alabama. It offers a wide range of products that handle fleet, tool, fuel, parts, and work order management in one system. The company started back in January 2012, so you can imagine all the interesting data it has collected and analyzed over the years. Wonder no longer. In its 2026 Fleet Benchmark Report, Fleetio analyzed data from 1.2 million vehicles, 17.5 billion miles, $7 billion in service spend, and more than 9 million work orders. It also surveyed more than 600 fleet professionals. That’s a serious dataset. Let’s pull out eight lessons construction fleet managers and shop leads can use.
1. AI curiosity is high, but commitment is low
More than half of fleets, 53.3 percent, are researching or piloting AI. Only 5.6 percent use it broadly today. Half of respondents worry about accuracy and reliability.
2. Older iron eats your maintenance budget (duh)
Vehicles more than 10 years old account for about 12 percent of miles but roughly 34 percent of service spend. Cost per mile jumps from $0.20 in the zero-to-five-year range to $1.10 after 10 years.
3. Rising costs are everyone’s problem
More than 54 percent of fleet managers say rising costs are their top concern. Regulations and emissions mandates follow at 46 percent. Construction fleets feel this squeeze in parts pricing, and emissions regulations appear to be shifting.
4. Reactive work still dominates
Only 6.7 percent of fleets describe maintenance as fully scheduled. In the service categories, data shows most operations work in a 53.7 percent scheduled environment. The remainder is described as 40.1 percent unscheduled and 6.2 percent emergency work.
5. Work order start vs. actual wrench time
The median time to start a work order is 31 minutes. The average time to start the work is 6.7 days. That gap tells the story. Most jobs start quickly, but exceptions must be balanced with downtime.
7. Spreadsheets are still part of many fleets
About 30.8 percent of fleets still rely on spreadsheets for tracking. That creates blind spots in cost tracking, compliance, and asset history. Another 17.5 percent still use paper forms, and 8.4 percent use a whiteboard.
8. EV transition remains slow and selective
Alternative propulsion adoption is mixed. From the survey, 70 percent report no hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles, while 18.3 percent have hybrids, and 11.6 percent have EVs.
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About the Author
Keith Gribbins
Keith Gribbins is the head of content at Construction Equipment, where he leads editorial strategy across print, digital, video, and social channels. An award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, Keith has won 17 national and regional editorial awards and is known for his hands-on reporting style, regularly visiting manufacturers, operating equipment, and covering major industry events worldwide.