Business fleets within the U.S. and Canada could save an estimated $105 million in annual fuel costs by reducing excessive idling amongst their worst-performing vehicles, based on a brand new Geotab evaluation.
Geotab analyzed idling behavior across greater than 2.6 million connected industrial vehicles over 12 months from June 2025 through May 2026.
The study found that the common industrial vehicle idles for about 1 hour and 25 minutes per driving day, consuming 0.95 gallons of fuel in the method.
Nonetheless, the median vehicle idles for 41 minutes or less, indicating that a comparatively small group of heavy idlers is pushing the general average higher.
Vehicles within the worst-performing 10% idle for greater than three hours per driving day and eat greater than 2 gallons of fuel during that point.
Targeting Fleet Idling Could Save Thousands and thousands
Quite than assuming fleets can eliminate idling entirely, Geotab compared vehicles against peer groups based on vocation, vehicle type, and weight class.
They identified roughly 261,000 vehicles within the worst-performing 10% of those peer groups.
If those vehicles reduced their idling to the median performance of comparable vehicles, Geotab estimates fleets could save 24.2 million gallons of fuel annually.
Based on average gasoline and diesel prices through the first half of 2026, that represents roughly $105 million in annual savings, or roughly $400 for every underperforming vehicle.
The approach recognizes that the suitable amount of idling can vary significantly depending on how a vehicle is used.
How Fleets Can Discover Preventable Idling
One among the study’s central findings is that prime idle time doesn’t necessarily indicate poor fleet performance.
For fleet managers, Geotab recommends first establishing a baseline by examining idle hours per driving day, idling as a share of total fuel consumption, and idle time relative to total engine-on time.
Fleets can then separate operational idling from discretionary or avoidable idling.
Evaluation of two.6 million industrial vehicles in Canada and the US.
Power take-off activity is one example of operational idling. Still, other legitimate uses can include drivers using the vehicle for administrative work or rest while counting on in-cab climate control.
For avoidable idling, Geotab recommends looking first at driver behavior.
“Driver behavior is often the primary lever for the discretionary portion,” said Charlotte Argue, senior manager of sustainable mobility at Geotab and creator of the evaluation.
Driver coaching, telematics-triggered alerts, clear idling policies, and performance recognition programs can provide opportunities to scale back unnecessary engine hours without requiring additional capital investment.
For operational idling, fleets can as an alternative determine whether the important engine needs to offer the required power.
Evaluation of two.6 million industrial vehicles in Canada and the US.
Auxiliary power units, electric PTO systems, and vehicle-mounted power systems can potentially operate climate control, communications equipment, and vocational equipment without keeping the vehicle’s important engine running.
Those technologies could possibly be particularly applicable to high-idle applications including public safety, utilities, and construction.
Ultimately, the study suggests fleets may even see higher results by targeting specific vehicles and operating conditions relatively than implementing blanket idle-reduction goals.
As a substitute of simply asking how much their vehicles idle, Argue said fleet operators should consider one other query: “Which idling is definitely price targeting?”
This Article First Appeared At www.automotive-fleet.com
