Challenges for Trucking

The last few days I was in New Orleans for the American Trucking Association (ATA) management convention.  During that time, I listened to several speakers and panelists.  All of whom were concerned about a few major themes.

1. Safety

2. Costs

3. Efficiency

4. Government Regulations

These 4 are greatly simplified here.  

When it comes to safety, it is evident by the data, that the trucking industry has come a long way in this regard.  GPS tracking on trucks, anti-rollover technology, improved awareness programs (including America's Road Team) have made great improvements.  When it comes to safety, knowing what a driver is doing is critical.  Having a GPS tracking system is certainly a first step to ensuring safe driving speeds and driver accountability.  And, unlike some other technologies, GPS tracking for trucks is very affordable.

Costs are certainly of great concern to every trucking company.  Fuel, collections, driver compensation, government regulations, and driver retention all contribute to the strains on the budgets of trucking firms.  There are some interesting solutions on the market for automating billing and collections in the trucking market.  This primarily focuses on the joining of networks to facilitate payment and discrepancy resolutions.  This is certainly an area worth investigating.  One major carrier eliminated the need for several people in his billing market by joining one of these networks.  Of course, when it comes to cost reduction, GPS tracking for your trucking fleet is an incredibly easy option.  ROI for a system is generally achieved in less than 6 months.  Fuel and labor costs drop dramatically when GPS tracking is placed on a fleet of trucks and driver behaviour improves.

Efficiency can be achieved a number of ways.  I'm sure you are already expecting me to say that GPS tracking is of great benefit here as well.  Of course it is!  This might be where the GPS tracking solutions for trucking fleets shines the brightest.  Being able to manage the routing and details of your trucking fleet in real time leads to incredible savings with very little outlay of capital.

Finally, I heard a significant amount of discussion regarding government regulations on the trucking industry.  The desire to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gasses is very popular throughout the world.  That being said, from what I heard, I have to commend the trucking industry and the diesel engine manufacturers for the progress they have made.  Diesel truck engines being manufactured today are cleaner burning than ever before.  In addition to truck engine technology, tire manufacturers are producing tires that "stick" on the road less.  Less "stick" for tires results in greater fuel economy for trucks. 

I continue to be impressed by the quality of the individuals in the trucking market and their desire to make America a better, safer, cleaner, and more profitable country.  I am glad our GPS tracking solutions are a significant part of the solution bank.

Keep trucking and tracking,

Steven Van Ooyen

Chief Technology Officer

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