Main disadvantages of those companies compared to the big players are:
- Even though hardware required to install is plug and play there require to be attached to OBD or 9 pin port in truck cabin. Usually, this is located on some hard to access part of the cabin.
- It is very easy to disable the solution. Truck drivers can very easy remove it. I know people say it is not allowed to do it but still it is possible and if they do it the company is in big problems.
- In most cases, those plug and play devices are connected to the mobile app installed on truck driver smartphone via Bluetooth. Then mobile by using cell network and data plan sends the data to the company office. This requires the truck driver to have a smartphone and a data plan which is not something all of them have and furthermore they are not willing to top ay for it.
Fuel Management Solutions
Latest study done by Continental shows that fuel management solutions are ranked #1 on the wish list of logistics and transportation companies. It is not self-driving trucks, driving assisting technology. It is fuel management and fuel optimization.
Trucking companies need to save money and they need it now. Fuel expense is the biggest expense every trucking company has and 30% of all money goes on fuel. They want it now.
There is two different approach in this are as well:
- Fuel card solutions offered by big players in this space targeting trucking companies. This way if you decide to take the fuel card from a certain providers such as Love’s, TA or EFS. You can get discounts on fuel. Depending on the fleet size and monthly purchases your discounts will vary. The more you spend the bigger the discount. Not bad but there are some restrictions that limit the potential savings.
- Smart Fuel Management Systems invented by companies like Fueloyal that are optimizing fuel purchases on every route. The system simply knows what is your location. As well as where are you going and provides the info where on which location and how much fuel you should buy. This way you can save $300 truck/month. The best part is that there is no need to do anything. The predictive system does everything on its own and informs driver what to do by sending SMS instructions on his phone.
Truck Driving Jobs
On this year MATS, there was at least half of the hall reserve just for trucking companies oriented to recruit truck drivers. Not just trucking companies but also truck driver recruiting agencies visited MATS.
Over the next five years, the trucking industry will grow by 21%. That is to say, the entire gross tonnage is going to grow by 60%. People are changing the way they shop and this has a direct impact on a number of parcels that truck drivers are transporting every day.
More and more people are buying stuff online that trucking companies need to deliver to their homes instead of going to the store and take it directly.
For that reason, the industry is growing. There are more and more truck drivers in need to supply the increased demand. The truck driver shortage is one of the biggest problems at the moment.
Moreover, this shortage is causing trucking companies to lose a lot of money because of that. The estimations say that if the truck driver quits the job trucking company will lose on average $6,000 to replace him.
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Companies are working really hard to create the environment where truck drivers are going to stay with them for a long period of time. They started behaving a lot like IT companies.
Trucking companies nowadays are offering truck drivers some perks that were unseen in this industry so far. All for the purpose of attracting and keeping them in the company. Some of the perks seen on this year MATS are:
- Paid vacation;
- Health insurance;
- Safe driving bonuses;
- Free meals;
- Free internet and data plans;
Conclusion
As you can see this year MATS was very interesting experience and showed a good direction where the industry is going. We are part of really exciting moments in truck industry and we are witnessing the change on a daily base.
Is it good or bad I leave that to you to judge? If there are some interesting thoughts you’d like to share with me please feel free to comment.
