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Blog Supply Chain Expertise

Technology in the Trucking Industry: What the Future Holds

The trucking industry is an example of a significant business vertical where technology can help optimize segments of an industry while also benefiting our planet and our society. Previously, transportation mainly relied on a classic model consisting of transportation infrastructure, fragmented technology, and more than 700,000 carriers with fewer than 20 trucks in the US alone. However, like with every other industry, companies have had to change with the times. The constant changes in tech have pushed those in logistics to diversify and transform in order to maintain a competitive advantage. Today, advances in technology promise to provide solutions to some of the industry’s biggest obstacles. 

How can technology solve these issues in the logistics industry? Let’s dive right in for a brief overview. 

1. The Driver Shortage

Always at the forefront when discussing what plagues freight, the driver shortage is a real issue for the industry. With drivers and employers butting heads over profits, and the American Trucking Association having officially recognized an ongoing shortage, companies in the meantime are at a loss of what to do. A layered situation, the shortage is not something that has appeared overnight, and it can’t be resolved overnight either. Today, there are only two solutions: Adding capacity by adding drivers & trucks or making what is called dark capacity accessible to shippers through technology.

Training drivers takes time and is costly. Technology, like Digital Freight Marketplaces, can be implemented faster, and instantly solve the problem of capacity access, as long as empty miles and unused capacity still exist. DFMs like the ZUUM DFM just require more adoption, where more shippers start to use DFMs for both dedicated and spot freight. The resulting increase of capacity utilization and resulting fewer empty miles also have a positive effect on carbon emissions. ZUUM’s new backhaul finder is a great example of technology that can alleviate the capacity problem for shippers, while increasing profitability for carriers by adding paying loads instead of empty miles.

In the future, automated trucking – either driver assisted autopilots or fully self-driving trucks – are also a solution that may be able to reduce the size of the problem. Some self-driving trucks are being tested today and may be more common on our roads within the next decade. According to Chuck Price, Chief Product Officer at TuSimple, “their new autonomous trucks can see forward over a half mile, farther than any other autonomous system in the world, and that they can run during the day, the night and even in the rain.” This technology could reduce the capacity problem, especially during times when transportation demand is high, as a temporary supplement to the truckers on the road today.

2. Lack of Efficiency

Time is money, and money is time. Regardless of where you work, almost every businessman will tell you the same thing. The good news is, there are countless ways to improve efficiency at every step of the way, thanks to different technology solutions. We can see this at the ground level, such as by using truck scales: they allow workers to weigh the shipment as they are simultaneously loading and unloading it, versus having to manually carry it back and forth in order to weigh it. Saving your worker’s time and energy helps ensure that they are happier at work and makes it so that the surplus is being reinvested elsewhere, thereby benefiting the employer. Software and driver apps that help truckers find the cheapest available gas, improved GPS features, and automated freight matching are all key improvements that help further freight.

3. Legacy Tools

The few technological enhancements in trucking are often legacy tools that has not been updated for years. New logistics technology companies are emerging and are offering innovative solutions. Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, has been a game changer for many fleet management companies. From maintenance, route planning, trend analysis, and real-time updates on the shipment process, SaaS has made it possible for companies to go online and subscribe to a service without being locked in for years, potentially missing out on further technological innovation. Being internet-based increases accessibility and lets multiple parties make use of the software. A 2016 survey reported that over 60% of companies were already using SaaS, making it a welcome addition to technology that has improved trucking on a significant scale. 

At ZUUM Transportation, we believe that the future is in the details, and those details can be found in the technology that we choose to invest in. Learn more about our technology solutions here.

Related Sources:

https://www.mytruckpulse.com/blog/technology-innovation-in-trucking-industry.html

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/ai-trucking

https://hackernoon.com/5-future-transportation-technologies-that-will-boom-or-bust-in-2019-b5ee59f7f8f

https://interestingengineering.com/automated-trucks-are-coming-much-sooner-than-you-think

https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/fleet-management-trucking-technology-trends/

https://www.geotab.com/blog/benefits-of-saas/

https://www.computereconomics.com/article.cfm?id=2253

Categories
Blog Logistics News

Laura & Logistics: A Road to Recovery Ahead

2020 feels like it’s been an impossibly eventful year. From a pandemic and fires to political upheaval, murder hornets, and a hurricane, it continuously seems like nothing else could impact us. However, the US just experienced category 4 Hurricane Laura ravaging the Texas-Louisiana coast. With wind speeds of over 145 mph, CNN describes Laura as, “the most powerful August hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since Katrina hit 15 years ago.”

This is how the National Hurricane Center describes hurricanes of this magnitude:  

“Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and/or some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted, and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”

CBS News reports that “at least 20 million people are in the storm’s path and over half a million people have been ordered to evacuate.” Although Louisiana and Texas are no stranger to experiencing hurricanes, this is the first time since we began keeping record that a category 4 or 5 hurricane has hit these particular areas. Officials worry that not enough people are taking the hurricane seriously and evacuating as ordered. NPR has published Nic Hunter’s, Mayor of Lake Charles’s statement as follows: 

“I will be brutally honest,” he said, “we are very concerned that not enough people are evacuating.” These are comments following Texan Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement that “the power of Hurricane Laura is unprecedented.” Evacuation poses a problem for the population affected by Laura since the storm surge is already set to cause extreme damage, and any delay in evacuation could see the roads flooding before everyone is able to get out. And once wind speeds reach about 40 mph, driving on the roads becomes unsafe to the point where it would be difficult for even law enforcement to reach you. 

COVID-19 and Hurricane Laura

To add to the complications, COVID-19 still thrives during August 2020, and Hurricane Laura does nothing to give it pause. CNN news sources spoke to relevant officials from Texas and Louisiana, where they shared details on how they are attempting to stem coronavirus related issues and simultaneously keeping as many people as they can safe. This includes securing hotel rooms with limited guests rather than providing the normal shelter housing and having extra buses to transport people while implementing social distancing measures. It also means a pause in testing, during an especially crucial time when schools are reopening. 

The Impact on Freight

As for the impact to logistics, companies began repositioning freight as early as last week in preparation for Laura. One concern is the blow expected to be endured by the energy sector of the US. “[The hurricane] has prompted 82% of oil output and 57% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico to be shut, according to the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.” The lack of production indicates a possible increase in fuel prices as a result of decreased supply, which also happened after Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017. This, in turn, has an inevitable impact on fuel and load adjustments.

As written by Freight Waves, “The potential for disruptions to the nation’s fuel and shipping infrastructure is significant, according to Ben Ruddell, director of the FEWSION project at Northern Arizona University. […]

Downed trees and road closures are major concerns along Interstate 10, according to Mark Russo, chief science officer for Riskpulse, an Austin, Texas-based supply chain analytics firm. I-10 runs east-west through Louisiana and Texas. Russo said during a Tuesday webinar briefing by Riskpulse that high winds and flooding could also close some stretches of Interstate 45, which stretches from Dallas to the Gulf Coast.”

It is highly encouraged that anyone who may be affected by Hurricane Laura follow the guidelines provided to them by their local and national officials. Stay safe and tuned in for more relevant information. 

Related Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/26/us/laura-evacuations-covid-19/index.html

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/transportation-logistics-sector-braces-for-hurricane-laura

https://www.ttnews.com/articles/storm-laura-set-slam-us-energy-coast-major-hurricane

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/hurricane-laura-storm-track-path-forecast-today-2020-08-26/

https://www.supplychainquarterly.com/articles/3823-truckload-traffic-jumps-as-shippers-move-freight-away-from-hurricane-laura

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/26/906203511/hurricane-laura-forecast-to-bring-unsurvivable-storm-surge-as-category-4-storm

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/26/906145033/parts-of-texas-including-galveston-brace-for-hurricane-laura