Tag: Newsletter 1st Article

The Pete Store, a four-time Peterbilt North American Dealer of the Year and one of the largest privately owned Peterbilt dealer groups in North America, recently announced the acquisition of G.L. Sayre, a family-owned Peterbilt dealership with locations in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania and New Castle, Delaware. 

The two locations have re-opened as The Peterbilt Store – Philadelphia and The Peterbilt Store – Wilmington. The Conshohocken location will continue to offer new and used truck sales, along with parts and service. The New Castle location will continue providing parts and service, with truck sales to be added in the near future. Both facilities will retain their existing teams and their long-standing commitment to local customers, now backed by The Pete Store’s broader East Coast network and resources. 

The acquisition strengthens The Pete Store’s Mid-Atlantic presence and extends coverage into the Philadelphia market, one of the most active freight regions in the country. Within a one-day drive of approximately 40% of the U.S. population and served by major corridors including I-95, I-76, and I-476, the region is a critical hub for fleets moving goods throughout the Northeast and beyond. 

“These two locations strengthen our ability to support fleets up and down the East Coast,” Arscott added. “With every Pete Store location, customers benefit from consistent service, deeper parts inventory, and the technical support to keep their trucks on the road.” 

Founded in 1934, G.L. Sayre has served the Mid-Atlantic region for 92 years as a family-owned Peterbilt dealership with a strong local presence. 

“G.L. Sayre has built something special over nearly a century of serving this region,” said Jeff Arscott, president of The Pete Store. “Our job is to honor what the Sayre family created and continue investing in the service, parts, and support that customers in this market depend on every day.” 

The acquisition brings The Pete Store’s network to 33 locations across the Eastern U.S.

 A new report from American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and Decisiv Inc. indicates parts and labor costs fell in the fourth quarter of 2025.

After rising in Q3 2025, combined parts and labor costs in the Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark Report decreased by 1.3 percent, according to a statement from the ATA. The drop in Quarter-over-Quarter (QoQ) combined expenses included -0.4 percent lower parts costs and a -2.6 percent reduction in labor costs.

This across-the-board moderation followed sizable cost increases in Q3 2025 seen in 3.8 percent higher combined expenses during the previous quarter.

Year-over-Year (YoY) in Q4 2025, combined parts and labor costs increased 2 percent, continuing a year-long upward trend. However, this contrasts with the previous quarter when both parts and labor costs rose YoY. In the current quarter parts costs jumped by 3.7 percent while labor costs fell by -0.4 percent, the ATA said in a statement.

The drop in quarterly costs reflects lower freight volumes and mileage.

For Q4 2025, the American Trucking Associations advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index average fell 1.8 percent from the third quarter and was down 0.3 percent compared to the final three months in 2024. These low levels of trucking volumes, according to ATA, were suppressed by soft manufacturing and construction activity. For 2025 in total, tonnage rose just 0.1 percent over the 2024 average.

In Q4 2025, combined parts and labor cost increases were recorded in 10 of the 25 VMRS Systems tracked in the Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report, seven fewer than in the previous quarter. QoQ parts cost rose in 10 systems, also seven less than in Q3, and labor costs were up in just seven systems, down considerably from 15 systems in the previous quarterly analysis.

YoY combined parts and labor costs were higher in 16 VMRS Systems, one more than in the previous quarter.  Parts costs were up in 19 systems, four more than in the previous YoY analysis, while 11 systems with higher YoY labors represented four fewer than in Q3 2025.

“Across the industry, fleets are called upon to manage fluctuating costs with consistent service approaches,” said Tim Hardin, president and CEO of Decisiv. “The moderation in costs seen in the current Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark Report illustrates how this is being addressed at shops using effective management practices.”

To provide a highly accurate understanding of service costs, the Decisiv TMC Benchmark Report is now based on a more extensive datase, according to the ATA. The result of greater encoding precision that adds cost information across all VMRS codes included in the quarterly data, the report now presents an improved view of service costs for deeper activity and trend analyses.

The Decisiv/TMC Parts & Labor Service Benchmark is based on comprehensive service data. For the report, Decisiv collects and analyzes parts and labor costs for 25 VMRS system-level codes.  These codes account for more than 97 percent of total parts and labor spending on more than seven million assets during 300,000+ monthly maintenance and repair events at 5,000+ service locations.

TMC issues the reports to its fleet members. The reports are organized based on the Council’s VMRS, sorted by VMRS-coded vehicle systems and geographic location.

TMC fleet members will receive the report electronically via email. For more information on joining TMC, call (703) 838-1763 or visit http://tmc.trucking.org.

Peterbilt recently recognized its first Master Technician, Michael Fitzpatrick of Ohio Peterbilt, marking what the company said is “a significant milestone in service excellence and reinforcing its commitment to advanced technician training.”

The Peterbilt Master Technician designation is the highest level of technician achievement, representing a highly trained professional who has completed the most advanced level of education offered to diagnose, maintain and service Peterbilt vehicles. A Master Technician possesses in-depth knowledge across all major vehicle systems and is also recognized for their diagnostic, problem-solving abilities and leadership skills, according to the company.

“We congratulate Michael Fitzpatrick on this significant achievement as our inaugural Peterbilt Master Technician,” said Danny Landholm, Peterbilt director of Dealer Network Development. “He has demonstrated exceptional expertise, leadership and mastery of advanced diagnostic and repair skills needed to support today’s increasingly complex vehicle technologies and the evolving needs of our customers.”

Achieving Peterbilt Master Technician status requires extensive hands-on experience, completion of rigorous coursework and demonstrated proficiency in diagnosing and resolving critical vehicle system issues. As trusted technical leaders, to address complex truck, engine and electrical repair, Master Technicians will serve as mentors to other technicians to ensure vehicles meet Peterbilt’s high standards of performance and reliability. 

“Earning the Master Technician designation is a proud moment in my career and the training has prepared me to deliver an even higher level of service,” said Fitzpatrick. “I’ve focused on understanding how advanced vehicle systems work together across the entire truck. This is knowledge I can apply every day and share with other technicians so we can continue improving together.”

“Today we recognize an important accomplishment with the designation of our first Master Technician, reflecting a strong foundation of technical skill, experience and commitment to quality work. Our customers will benefit from more efficient diagnostics, dependable repairs and consistent service, while fellow technicians gain a knowledgeable resource to support ongoing learning and best practices. For our dealer network, this milestone supports continued investment in service expertise and reinforces our focus on reliable, high-quality support,” added Landholm.