Jeff Cioletti

Perhaps the biggest fleet-related issue that probably isn’t going away any time soon is the shortage of drivers, especially those with a commercial driver’s license (CDL).

A number of the industry’s leading tire suppliers have unveiled a range of new products, as well as technical enhancements to existing models to improve the performance of beverage distributors.

Beverage fleets now are getting creative with the types of applications for which they deploy lighter, non-CDL-required vehicles.

Diversification has been a key path to success for many beverage operations in today’s ultra-competitive market. That’s been true for Boston’s Night Shift Brewing, which, in 2016, launched a separate distribution business.

With the move to rear-load bulk trailers versus traditional side-loaders, liftgates have been playing a much more prominent role in beverage distribution fleets.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the latest solutions that are arming distributors with not only the most up-to-date safety features, but with real-time intelligence that enables them to run smarter.

Training is tricky business, especially in an era where beverage distributors in virtually every U.S. city are dealing with a shortage of qualified CDL drivers.

As all-electric technology steadily expands in the market during the next several years, continuous opportunities also will emerge for other green fuel types.

Del Papa Distributing, Victoria, Texas, can teach other wholesalers a thing or two about weathering the storm — literally and figuratively — including the challenges wrought by both Mother Nature and the nature of the rapidly evolving beer distribution landscape.

Here’s a look at what you can expect from some of the biggest names in fleet equipment manufacturing.