The Cost of Cutting Costs — with Robert Braswell

The cheapest decision today can create the highest costs tomorrow. Robert Braswell has spent 33 years at the neutral technical seat of the trucking industry as Executive Director of the Technology and Maintenance Council — he sees what's actually working across fleets and what's quietly being abandoned. We get into what fleets are betting on for 2027, and how to balance immediate savings against smarter investments in drivers, technicians, maintenance data, and emerging tech.

0:00 — The Decisions Fleets Are Making in 2026

1:27 — How TMC Sets Technical Standards for Fleets

2:40 — What's Keeping Fleet Managers Up at Night in 2026

5:03 — The 35% Fuel-Economy Gap Between Drivers

5:42 — Why Fleets Chase 1–2% Fuel-Economy Gains

9:29 — Aftertreatment and the Uncertainty Around 2027 Trucks

10:58 — Why Fleets Are Pre-Buying the Vehicles They Know

14:10 — Where Electric Trucks Fit Today

15:52 — Why Better Fleet Decisions Depend on Better Data

20:50 — The Headlights Were Never the Problem

27:43 — The Technician Shortage Isn't About Applicants

33:57 — Are You Managing for Uptime or the Quarterly Bonus?

34:26 — The KPIs That Actually Matter for Fleet Uptime

38:41 — What the National Technician Skills Competition Reveals

47:09 — What AI Is for Fleets

53:38 — How Autonomous Trucks Could Reshape Fleet Maintenance

Guest: Robert Braswell, Executive Director, Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) — [LinkedIn]([NEEDS REVIEW])