Despite Industry Rout, Oil Patch Fleet Vehicle Dealers Remain Strong

OKLAHOMA CITY - Nov. 2, 2015 - PRLog -- While most oil & gas vendors have been left in disarray, due to a backsliding market, there are still a number of services who have sustained and are operating with a business as usual attitude. To the layman, many think that during an industry downturn, work comes to a standstill, but in an industry such as oil & gas, where there is constant maintenance, service, and midstream infrastructure, fleet vehicles are an essential for maintaining operations.

“We have noticed customers putting a few more miles on their vehicles than they normally would to try and squeeze a little more value out of their purchases.” Stated Jameson Dreher, a top fleet account manager for Hudiburg Fleet Services in Midwest City, OK. “The current economic situation is definitely effecting purchase decisions for many people throughout the midwest but it hasn’t stopped them from buying what they need to get their jobs done.” added Dreher. Being such an industry staple for many years in the Southwest United States, Hudiburg Fleet has a large oil & gas client list, scaling from: major E&P companies to mom and pop oil field service companies, who are ordering or replacing vehicles on a weekly basis.

Fleet sales peaked to it's highest numbers since 2003, partly because of the recent introduction of several new vehicles. Forecasters say that the fleet sales tally this year will be about 14% better than the year-ago number, and will translate to a strong, seasonally adjusted annual rate. "The sales momentum seen throughout 2015 will continue into 2016," said John Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at consultant J.D. Power. Power forecast sales this year will topple previous records — most optimistic of the forecasts.