Retail sales of Class 8 natural gas trucks climbed 21% year-to-date for the first two months of 2022 versus the same period 2021, according to ACT Research, but the outlook for supporting infrastructure isn't keeping pace. ACT Research Vice President Steve Tam said sales of natural gas-powered vehicles were mixed in the December to February time period, with December and January experiencing strong year-over-year gains, "but February lagging considerably." The six major truck OEMs account for about 60% of the heavy-duty natural gas market and in the near term, Tam said, December’s sales easily outshone January and February’s activity, which paled in comparison. "Combined, sales in the three-month period extended and increased [year-to-date] gains meaningfully, a relatively new development.” An uptick in natural gas truck sales might be a win for lower emissions, but the appetite for infrastructure development is waning. Tam noted that ACT Research is seeing an overall increase in electric charging stations, both existing and planned, but a continuing decline of total natural gas stations, particularly those planned for the future. "That said, we still see articles about natural gas use in transportation," he said, "as well as discussions about hydrogen fuel cells and investments, but the overwhelming amount of trade-industry headlines continues to focus on electric commercial vehicle development.” https://ift.tt/2wmrRZ5
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Also contributing to this analysis: Andrew Balthrop and Ron Gordon. Editor's note: The authors of the following series are faculty of the University of Arkansas and Texas Christian University focused on supply chain research and education. Click through their bylines above to find more about the authors. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) requires American employers to pay workers overtime when their workweeks exceed 40 hours. Trucking companies do not have to pay most employee drivers overtime because of the law’s motor carrier exemption -- but that will change if Congress follows through on the Department of Transportation’s recent advice. Bill H.R. 7517, introduced just a couple of weeks ago in the House, is the first attempt to do so. The DOT appears to support eliminating the motor carrier exemption as a way to “speed disaster recovery response,” presumably by increasing pressure on shippers and receivers to quickly load and unload trucks. Some contend that ending the exemption would also alleviate driver shortages by significantly raising drivers' wages. Others believe that the exemption -- which has sometimes been seen as improving trucking safety by disincentivizing drivers from working too many hours -- is outdated now that electronic logging devices track most drivers’ hours of service to the second. This 2020 survey of drivers, conducted by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, found that 79% support the association’s efforts to end the exemption, so the move would be initially popular with many. But, like any regulatory change, it would likely have benefits, costs, and unknown unintended consequences. This article is the first of two examining how eliminating the motor carrier exemption may impact drivers and owner-operators, carriers, and the public. Part 1 here covers potential market effects, which could manifest in a range of possible impacts across the trucking industry. It would almost certainly pose significant challenges for large carriers, but the extent to which it would impact owner-operators is much less clear. Most drivers would likely see some benefit, both financially and by spending less time waiting to load or unload shipments. And while the change could speed the automation of trucking and the elimination of certain jobs, it is unlikely to move the timeline forward enough to offset the short-term benefits drivers would enjoy. [Related: Legislation to remove overtime-pay exemption for employee drivers follows DOT action item] Carrier impacts would be felt directlyEnding the exemption would directly impact carriers who employ drivers much more significantly than independent one-truck carriers, though it is unclear how much company drivers would truly benefit. Carriers with company drivers could try to lower wages to offset overtime pay, keeping total earnings relatively unchanged. Or they may rely more heavily on independently-contracted owner-operators. Ending the exemption could reduce the number of company driving jobs, which offer stability, insurance, and retirement benefits that some prefer over the high-risk/high-reward business model of an owner-operator. However, trucking’s longstanding hiring and retention woes could moderate efforts to reduce wages or replace company drivers with independent contractors. Carriers who do not already pay company drivers overtime would also need to overhaul their systems for paying drivers and tracking their hours. While most employee drivers hauling over-the-road are paid per-mile, trucking has a hodgepodge of compensation models, including hourly wages, salaries, and percentage pay. [Related: Percentage is king for leased owner-operators, long after the rise of miles post-deregulation] Washington state, which does not recognize the FLSA’s motor carrier exemption, provides a formula that could be used to calculate overtime for drivers who are paid per mile. But carriers may find that some existing payment models or combinations of models are incompatible with overtime. Implementing new payment systems would require time and resources. Single truck owner-operators leased to larger carriers would likely be unharmed by the change, at least in the short term. And though such owner-operators’ status as independent contractors would seemingly prevent them from receiving overtime pay as a direct result of the elimination of the exemption, they may indirectly benefit if large carriers pay company drivers more and freight rates rise as a result. [Related: Is it overtime for company-driver overtime pay?] Change could spur on automationThough many company-employed drivers could benefit from the elimination of the motor carrier exemption in the near-term, it is possible that the change would hasten the automation of trucking. Estimates vary on when automation will begin to displace drivers -- and some researchers believe media reports suggesting that automation will rapidly eliminate all driving jobs are badly misinformed. But it is clear that at least some trucking jobs will be automated in the not-too-distant future. Autonomous truck technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, thanks partly to the support of large carriers. Several carriers have partnered with tech companies and manufacturers who are developing autonomous trucks. Labor already accounts for approximately 43% of the cost of trucking among companies employing drivers, so ending the motor carrier exemption may motivate large carriers to do even more to speed the development and deployment of autonomous trucks. Efficiency impacts at shippers/receivers could be minimalOn the productivity front, many who favor ending the FLSA’s motor carrier exemption believe doing so will force shippers and receivers to become more efficient, thereby reducing the time drivers spend waiting at loading docks. Ending the exemption could make trucking more efficient and, by mitigating one of the major stressors drivers face, may help with driver retention. Yet many carriers already pay drivers overtime and many charge hourly detention fees ranging from $25 to $100 and more when wait times exceed a contracted threshold, often two hours but sometimes a single hour. If existing driver overtime pay and detention penalties have not solved the problems, then adding more overtime pay to the mix may not make as big a difference as some expect when it comes to improvements in shipper/receiver efficiencies. It is also possible that some drivers would be less inclined to pressure loading dock workers to hurry things along if they are receiving overtime pay while sitting at a warehouse. Indeed, some worry that introducing overtime pay will incentivize loafing across all elements of the job, which will increase lead times and reduce productivity, all while increasing operating costs. However, modern technologies such as electronic logging devices, GPS trackers, and driver-facing cameras would likely provide companies the tools needed to measure and monitor driver performance. Read next: How would overtime pay affect trucking safety? https://ift.tt/2wmrRZ5 E-commerce sites for heavy-duty truck parts have gotten much slicker since they first began popping up on the internet. Their user interfaces are easier to use; they source a wider network of possible suppliers; and the sites often provide additional helpful information such as related parts or installation instructions. In early March, Trucks, Parts, Service looked at how the parts shortage was affecting aftermarket service providers’ ability to perform services on their customers’ trucks. Looking for parts is time-consuming and oftentimes limits providers to their local areas. Industry e-commerce sites should be in the playbook of all parts and service providers when sourcing much needed truck parts. FinditParts“When your normal sources don’t have a part, you start calling other people — typically they’re dealers in your area, so you’re not seeing inventory outside of your geographic area,” says David Olsen, executive vice president, FinditParts. “If you think about any service provider specific to trucks, by our calculations, their counter/purchasing people are spending a minimum of 25 percent of their day trying to find a part they don’t have. It’s this whole antiquated daisy chain of phone calls,” Olsen says. FinditParts, like several other truck part sites, free up that time so staff can be tending to other important aspects of the business. E-commerce advantagesThe goal of Paccar Parts’ e-commerce platform is to provide its dealer network with the easiest, most user-friendly e-commerce platform in the marketplace. “That includes ensuring our dealers have great retail availability, making sure we have good availability in our distribution centers and that the e-commerce piece of this is making it extremely easy for end customers to find what they’re looking for and getting it as soon as possible,” says Joe Hutchins, director of e-commerce, Paccar Parts, which encompasses Kenworth, Peterbilt and TRP. “A big feature for us is … our fleet integration capabilities so we can take our platform and integrate it directly with the fleet’s procurement system. That’s a real popular offering [because] everyone is looking to promote efficiency within their parts procurement operation,” Hutchins says. The site offers flexible and predictive searches, so as a customer begins to type in a search, after three characters, they get a drop-down menu with all the parts that contain those three characters, expediting the search process. This site also displays related parts and includes 360-degree images of the parts “so customers can look at the part they need and compare it to one that might be sitting on a counter in front of them,” Hutchins says. [RELATED: Ways aftermarket distributors can improve supply chain shortage issues] The foundation of FinditParts’ e-commerce platform is “our one-to-many approach to sourcing, which means for any given part, we have multiple suppliers,” says Olsen. For example, a FinditParts user is looking for a Cummins gasket, so the site checks the availability at 11 different suppliers. But the platform knows several companies offer a direct replacement part, which could add another 30 sources. “In effect, when you’re looking for this one Cummins gasket, you could be checking 44 different suppliers with the click of a button,” Olsen says. “What we do is geolocate the customer and we geolocate the closest piece of inventory that matches his needs and that’s who we buy from and that’s where we ship it from.” Despite presenting myriad possible sources, Olsen says FinditParts is manufacturer specific. If customers are looking for a Cummins part, that’s what they’re going to get. Customers would have to choose an alternate version of the gasket to get an alternate brand. FinditParts searches for parts from many different sources; however, the company doesn’t allow just any company to onboard onto its site. “We vet our suppliers to ensure they can operationally perform their commitments to the customers, have quality products, have good deep inventory and good digital content, which enables us to represent their products online the way they want them represented,” Olsen says. “People need certainty when buying what they need.” Class8TruckParts.comConstruction on Class8TruckParts.com began in 2008. Thousands of hours have gone into building the site because “it’s extremely time-consuming to do it the right way,” says Chad Remp, international and e-commerce sales manager. “We offer customers the ability to buy thousands of parts at great prices. We have good, high-resolution images of the parts and great product details, which include vendor part numbers, including superseded and old part numbers,” Remp says. Like some other online parts resources, Class8TruckParts.com offers information on products related to what customers are looking for. If they’re looking for a right headlight, the site will display product information for the left headlight or information on specific bulbs. “We try to include as much product-related information for those parts to make sure anyone who is ordering from us is getting everything they need included with their order,” he says. In addition to being able to find and order parts, the site has a blog offering technical tips, schematics, troubleshooting information and, for some parts, installation instructions. “We give as much information as possible to anyone browsing on the site to help them make an informed decision,” Remp says. Marketing the siteAll the hi-res images, product information and other helpful features mean little if truck parts e-commerce sites can’t be found by customers. One common denominator among these sites is an investment in search engine optimization (SEO). Companies like Class8TruckParts.com and FinditParts invest in SEO to ensure their companies rank high in Google searches. But these companies don’t stop there to market their sites. “We have a complete Spanish version of the website. We’re helping to service not just our English-speaking customers but also our Spanish-speaking customers in the U.S. and around the world,” Remp says. [RELATED: When parts shortages affect repairs] Olsen says, “We’re students of the industry. We participate in all the associations to help create the standards for part naming, such as ACES and PIES, that are going to help all participants in this industry better identify and find parts.” In addition to setting organizational goals to get more customers to use Paccar Parts’ e-commerce platform, the company soon will be supporting the platform with “some pretty significant print and electronic promotions, with the audience being the end service provider,” Hutchins says. The parts shortage has wreaked havoc for parts and service providers in many ways. They can’t immediately provide customers with the parts they need; it’s time-consuming searching for hard-to-find parts; and the lack of parts is hindering service bays from getting customers’ trucks back on the road. It’s important these providers look to online resources to get those parts — and to get them quickly. “Normally 80 percent of what a fleet might need is available locally from somewhere. Today, that number is more like 60 to 65 percent, so all these parts that used to be readily available aren’t so readily available anymore,” Olsen says. https://ift.tt/2wmrRZ5 The number of fatalities caused by vehicle crashes climbed in 2021. According to preliminary semiannual estimates from the National Safety Council, collision fatalities in 2021 totaled 46,020, up 9% from 2020 and 18% from 2019, and on average eight people are killed in driver distraction-affected crashes daily. "Distracted driving accounts for nearly 10% of fatal crashes in the U.S.," said Noah Budnick, executive director for Together for Safer Roads. "Adding to this heartbreak is that these crashes are preventable. Distracted driving is a public health epidemic that we must address." Video telematics providers like Lytx and Samsara, among others, are working to do just that, and according to data, it’s working – at least among commercial fleets that adopt such technology. Gary Johnson, director of safety services at Lytx, said it’s important for fleets to adopt driver self-coaching technology that can help prevent crashes instead of waiting until an accident occurs to have a safety manager train them, especially as crashes reduce uptime which has an even harsher effect during supply chain disruptions and driver shortages. “Our clients who have embraced the technology really have seen a decrease in those overall crashes,” Johnson said. Samsara has had the same experience and, following a recent survey of its enterprise customers, found that 72% saw a decrease in distracted driving when using Samsara technology. The Lytx data shows distraction-related commercial driving collisions are on the decline. The data, released during April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month, was derived from more than 35 billion miles driven among 1.6 million drivers of Lytx’s fleet clientele in 2021. That 35 billion is up 5% from 2020 and 15% from 2019, and there was a 29% increase in the number of trucking trips from 2020 to 2021. But even as the number of miles and trips were on the rise, there were fewer commercial driving accidents. The data shows that collisions went down 5% from 2020 to 2021 and 25% from 2019 to 2021. Lytx said top distracted driving behaviors were down, too: mobile phones in hands (down 61%), driver smoking (down 40%) and food or drink distractions (down 86%). Lytx offers machine vision artificial intelligence that immediately notifies the driver of any unsafe behaviors the client selects to identify such as a cellphone in hand. The Lytx device will send an in-cab alert to the driver that it has detected risky behavior. The driver has a certain amount of time to self-correct, and if that doesn’t happen, the system notifies the driver’s company for further coaching. Samsara, which also offers AI dash cams, said in-cab alerts are one of the best ways to change behavior because it flags risky behavior as it happens so drivers can refocus their attention in the moment. Together for Safer Roads surveyed drivers and found that more than half of drivers view themselves as safer and more careful following in-cab camera adoption. Samsara said one-on-one coaching to high-risk drivers is another way to change behavior. Samsara offers data on distracted driving and speeding – or safety scores that aggregate a wide array of risk data – that can help identify drivers who would benefit from one-on-one coaching or additional training. Lytx offers self-coaching via its driver app where drivers can look back at their video footage at the end of the day or while on break to see what took place and correct it. “We always talk about the videos being just like game film for professional athletes. Well, these are professional drivers, so by them being able to see their game footage or their driving footage, they can actually look at it and correct it,” Johnson said. “In 2021 … we had seen 103% more drivers self-coach than any time period before … Because of that, we saw a reduction in the risk by 11%, and we saw a 34% reduction in overall events – overall triggers or behaviors.” Samsara said another important factor in improving driver safety is using the technology as a tool to engage drivers and reward positive behavior as opposed to a means of punishment, which can negatively impact drivers’ views of dash cams. Here are some additional data points Samsara concluded in its recent review of more than 9.8 million distracted driving alerts from March 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 among passenger, light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles across all industries it serves, including transportation, utilities, field services and manufacturing, among others:
https://ift.tt/2wmrRZ5 Trucking news and briefs for Monday, April 25, 2022: Michigan rolling back spring weight restrictionsThe Michigan Department of Transportation and local agencies are adjusting annual spring weight restriction areas to protect roads. Effective 6 a.m. Monday, April 25, weight restrictions will be lifted on all state trunkline highways from the southern Michigan border north to and including M-68 from the intersection with US-31 in the village of Alanson, Emmett County, east on M-68 ending at US-23 in Rogers City, Presque Isle County. Frost restrictions are still in effect for the remainder of the state and will be imposed and enforced on all state trunkline highways north of the M-68 line. State routes typically carry M, I, or US designations. When roads that have been frozen all winter begin to thaw from the surface downward, melting snow and ice saturate the softened ground. During the spring thaw, the roadbed softened by trapped moisture beneath the pavement makes it more susceptible to damage. This also contributes to pothole problems already occurring due to this winter's numerous freeze-thaw cycles. MDOT determines when weight restrictions begin each spring by measuring frost depths along state highways, observing road conditions, and monitoring weather forecasts. Weight restrictions remain in effect until the frost line is deep enough to allow moisture to escape and the roadbeds regain stability. Roehl raises driver payRoehl Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 59) based in Marshfield, Wisconsin, earlier this month changed its compensation program giving drivers the opportunity to earn from 12% and 14% more. The pay increase applies to its national, regional and home daily drivers. The company says it has moved from a static cents per mile on all miles to a sliding mileage scale based on length of haul taking into account the value of a driver’s time and realizing that drivers need to be compensated at a much higher rate per mile on shorter lengths of haul. It also takes geographic location and freight type into consideration. Some of Roehl's drivers will now earn $1.64 per mile on a 50-mile load as a result, the company said. “Once again, Roehl is innovating and evolving, and these pay plan changes reinforce our commitment to providing the best driving jobs to the best drivers in the industry,” said Tim Norlin, Roehl’s vice president of driver employment. “These pay plans are a fundamental change to how we compensate our driving teammates. The mileage band pay plans feature rates per mile based on the length of haul with activity pay added in.” https://ift.tt/2wmrRZ5 This article references survey results and data generated from The State of Diesel Technicians report, produced by CCJ parent company Randall Reilly and sponsored by Shell Lubricant Solutions. For more information or to download a copy of the report, click here. The average age of a diesel technician, according to Data USA, is just more than 40 years old – about a decade younger than the average age of a truck driver, but still a far cry from the age of a recent high school graduate who just completed an accredited diesel tech program. Just more than 9,500 diesel mechanics technologies degrees were awarded in 2019, a drop of about 2.5%. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there will be over 28,000 openings for diesel service technicians and mechanics for each of the next 10 years and shortage of diesel technicians cracked ATRI’s Top 10 industry concerns list (No. 10) for the first time in 2021. According to CCJ's recent The State of Diesel Technicians survey, 76% of respondents have worked in maintenance and repair for more than a decade. More than a quarter have been in the business for 30 or more years, while just 1% claim to have been in the business for 2 years or fewer – an alarming signal of a lack of a youth movement in heavy duty diesel technicians. Data USA pegged average technician age to be 41.6 years and growing about 1%. As a means to foster partnerships between businesses in the transportation industry and schools in their local communities, the ASE Education Foundation has introduced a new Adopt-A-School program – a program enables businesses to provide support to local schools while simultaneously providing those businesses with access to up-and-coming service professionals entering the work force. “If you look at the schools, the high schools, they’re pushing you to college,” said Kirk Altrichter, Kenan Advantage Group executive vice president of fleet services. “When I graduated, it was go to work, go to trade school, go to college or join the military, and they would try to steer you in the direction they thought fit best. That, somewhere along the line, got lost, and then people going into the trades really started to dry up.” [Related: A recipe for a successful apprenticeship program] Schools have historically been an important pipeline onto the shop floor – 96% of survey respondents said they came into the industry after high school via apprenticeship and/or a trade/vocational program in diesel engine repair. Mike Coley, ASE Education Foundation president, noted the Adopt-A-School program hopes to reconnect that conduit by helping increase the number of service professionals entering the industry while at the same time providing businesses with the opportunity to connect with and help train the next generation of service technicians. "Schools need partners from the industry to provide advice and guidance, demonstrate career opportunities for their students," he said, "and help those students get the hands-on experience that will grow their skills and encourage them to stick with an automotive career.” The ASE Education Foundation has created a landing page, which explains the Adopt-A-School concept and allows users to link to the free online toolkit which can help businesses launch and maintain partnerships with schools. The toolkit provides information about connecting with students, supporting a school’s training program and educators, and putting students to work in the industry while they are still in school. A downloadable brochure is also available to provide pertinent information and help employers recognize the value of these partnerships. For fleets going the apprenticeship route, Mary Grace Callipare, director of human resources at DeCarolis Truck Rental, said it is important to designate a trainer with not only a knowledge of trucks and components, but also someone with excellent communication skills. Callipare further cautioned against relying on a tech's years in service when evaluating them as a mentor candidate because, while they may be excellent at maintaining and servicing vehicles, they may lack the patience and other skills needed to teach and train others. https://ift.tt/C5gpAyv Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, April 21, 2022: Cross-border freight movement up year-over-yearTrucks moved $69.2 billion worth of freight across the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico in both directions in February, which is 16.3% higher than the $59.5 billion moved across borders during the same month a year ago, according to a U.S. DOT bulletin published April 20. The increase in cross-border freight in February follows COVID vaccine mandates implemented for truck drivers in January entering the U.S. and Canada. DOT reported that trucks moved $29.7 billion in freight across the U.S.-Canada border and $39.5 billion across the U.S.-Mexico border. The top three busiest truck border ports were Laredo, Texas ($17.1 billion); Detroit ($7.2 billion); and Port Huron, Michigan ($6.1 billion). Computers and parts made up the largest share, monetarily, of freight moved across the borders by trucks at $12.9 billion, followed by electrical machinery at $10.5 billion, and vehicles and parts at $8.8 billion. Truck freight made up the vast majority of freight moved across the borders in February. Compared to the $69.2 billion trucks moved during the month, rail moved $15.3 billion, followed by pipeline ($9.9 billion), vessel ($9 billion), and air ($4.2 billion). Two sentenced in New Orleans staged-accident fraud schemeChandrika Brown and Aisha Thompson, both of New Orleans and defendants in the widespread staged-accident fraud scheme targeting trucking companies in Louisiana, have each been sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Brown was sentenced to three years of probation, 100 hours of community service, restitution in the amount of $121,076.75, and a $100 special assessment fee. Thompson was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service, restitution in the amount of $677,500, and a $100 special assessment fee. According to documents filed in federal court, Brown, along with her co-defendants, Doniesha Gibson and Ishais Price and a co-defendant driver conspired to commit mail fraud in connection with a staged accident with a co-defendant driver on Oct. 15, 2015. Thompson, along with her co-defendants, Dewayne Coleman, Erica Lee Thompson, Donisha Lee, an unnamed passenger, and another individual, conspired to commit mail fraud in connection with a staged accident with the same co-defendant driver, occurring on Sept. 6, 2017. https://ift.tt/hCaofr4 Due in part to success in passenger cars – with Tesla's various models and the exploding demand for Ford's Mach-e and Lightning pickup – trucking and transportation have been firmly centered in the green-energy crosshairs. The transportation sector is a major source of GHG emissions, and is estimated to account for around 18% of global emissions and 24% of U.S. emissions, and the biggest units on the highway are starting to attract a bigger share of zero emission attention. In this week's 10-44, Jason and Matt talk with Fuels Institute Executive Director John Eichberger, whose organization recently completed a list of the five easiest and five hardest segments to decarbonize, and trucking landed on both lists. Eichberger notes that while the whole world is mostly focused on electrification, there are multiple other ways to reduce emissions, especially in trucking. CCJ's 10-44 is a weekly video feature covering the latest in trucking news and trends, equipment and technology. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. https://ift.tt/ugbqLPh Cloud-based shipping and logistics company Shipwell has launched a new, all-in-one shipper mobile app that includes simultaneous access to a transportation management system and a visibility tool. The app, which focuses on both the shipper and the carrier, is designed to increase capacity, especially during busy times like the current produce season. Shipwell said in a news release that the app can help increase productivity, streamline business functions and supply chain management, improve turnaround times, offer better communication between shipment partners and improve customer service quality. While the app was created to allow shippers’ remote workforces to communicate with other shipment partners, it also has a carrier/driver/dispatcher-focused side. Drivers, dispatchers and owner-operators can use the app to book loads, manage documents, message shippers and track shipments in real time. Carriers and shippers can manage their supply chains, have improved visibility into shipments, connect with shipment partners and manage and report shipment exceptions in real time. “Proactively resolving and mitigating exceptions and their impacts have helped us achieve 98% on-time-delivery and on-time-pickup metrics for our customers,” said Shipwell Vice President of Product Jerry Holbus. The visibility and tracking tool, called Compass Dashboard, houses all shipments within multiple alert tiles that have been sorted into statuses such as ‘late pickup or delivery,’ ‘critical shipment,’ ‘not tracking’ and many other related categories. The users can proactively resolve exceptions by choosing relevant corrective actions corresponding to each alert category, all from one screen. Shipwell’s technology uses machine learning for accurate ETA predictions that factor in upcoming traffic and weather the shipment will encounter in an effort to streamline processes from first to final mile. https://ift.tt/ugbqLPh Rand McNally estimates that more than 1 million trucks on the road have some form of the company’s digital solution – from navigation to telematics. Now, the company is working to bring new technologies to market with its recent acquisition of Australia-based fleet management and vehicle insights company Fleetsu. Rand McNally CEO Aaron Dannenbring told the CCJ during a recent call that the company was looking to acquire a technology company to enhance Rand McNally’s existing products. “Rand McNally has been involved in commercial transportation since really the advent of over-the-road commercial transportation,” Dannenbring said. “However, when we looked at where we were, we have a very strong footprint, good customers, good hardware, good products out there. But we realized that the next generation of these kinds of connected services really goes a lot deeper into the areas of fleet efficiency, fleet safety, fleet security and, generally speaking, fleet performance. “So the kinds of services that vehicle fleets want now, especially commercial carriers given the price of diesel fuel, given the need to manage fleet efficiency, required us to have a set of developments on our platform that were more sophisticated than what Rand McNally had to start with.” He said were Rand McNally to develop the technology itself, it would have been a multi-year process. And that’s where Fleetsu came in. Joseph Roark, TELEO Capital operating partner and Rand McNally chairman, said in a press release that Fleetsu’s platform, analytics and data capabilities will allow Rand McNally to offer a connected vehicle solution across the full fleet supply chain. Dannenbring said connected-vehicle technologies are still in their infancy, and this acquisition allows Rand McNally to jump in at the start. Fleetsu’s technology includes understanding driver behaviors and truck performance, like fuel efficiency and canvassing the engine for health, among other things. The platform features real-time location tracking with geofencing and direction and speed limit monitoring; driver safety information such as speed, braking, accelerating and cornering, as well as customizable thresholds and triggers to ensure drivers are taking breaks; alerts and notifications, including when a vehicle enters a specific area, is underutilized and stolen mode tracking; logbooks; a report builder to improve business processes and reduce operating costs; and electric vehicle data with EV charging status, charging station data and more. “The Fleetsu team has done an incredible amount of work to develop some of those next-generation applications on their platform. So that was really at the heart of (the acquisition),” Dannenbring said. “That's what we were looking at. We were also looking for teams that could help us jumpstart our future development, and the Fleetsu team is a team of world-class engineers.” He counts among them Fleetsu Founder Jakub Felinski, who now serves as Rand McNally chief innovation officer. Felinski, who said he didn’t expect his 7-year-old company to be acquired so quickly, said Fleetsu has a strong customer base and engineering presence in Australia that it plans to retain and grow following the acquisition. “When Rand McNally came to us and explained how they have this iconic business and is looking to transform more into being a technology powerhouse when it comes to connected car solutions, this was something that I got really excited about because not very frequently can you essentially team up and infuse a 160-year-old company that is very fast moving, funny enough with modern technology to essentially make it look and feel more like a startup,” Felinski said. “That's why we agreed to the transaction because it strengthens both of us at the same time. So for me, it's an exciting opportunity that we can continue to innovate with Rand McNally, that we can jointly develop and continue to develop world-class products for the market that Rand McNally is very strong at.” Dannenbring said this acquisition gives Rand McNally a jumpstart on future innovation, and the new technologies this acquisition will produce will help fleets save money, drive more efficiently, operate more safely, help drivers take better trips, lower insurance premiums and other benefits. But Fleetsu’s technology first needs to be integrated into Rand McNally, and he said those changes taking effect depends on the segment of the market in which the company is operating. “For our current customers – mostly long-haul trucking fleets that have ELD requirements – we will be porting those requirements into the new platform, and that's going to be a journey of probably a few months on the early side to several months on the later side to get all of that transitioned over,” Dannenbring said. “When a customer does not have an ELD requirement, that's going to happen much more quickly. The Fleetsu platform is already operating at scale in other markets around the world, and it just so happens that a lot of those markets don't have the same ELD mandate requirements that we have here in the United States. So for customers of smaller trucking fleets – sort of smaller trucks where if you don't need a commercial license for it – we can activate those fleets in a matter of short weeks as opposed to the months that it will take us on the ELD side. But within the next couple of quarters, we anticipate that we'll have a high percentage of our customers up and running on the new platform.” Felinski said the transition will be an easy one as Rand McNally and Fleetsu are aligned in how their businesses are set up. But he said the acquisition does offer Fleetsu a lot of opportunities in the market now that it is under the Rand McNally banner. The acquisition does the same for Rand McNally in the sense that Dannenbring is working to make it a global company, which it is one step closer to with this transaction. This acquisition creates a platform for the company’s global ambition and its ability to enter new markets more quickly. Dannenbring said Rand McNally has already “won some recent business … that will be truly global in scope,” but the company is not ready to announce those details. He said Rand McNally pursued Fleetsu, in part, because having a global footprint is a Rand McNally goal, and Fleetsu has business on multiple continents in addition to Australia. “We have some business abroad, but realistically most of our business is here in the United States. But we have global aspirations. We see the same opportunities in just about every market that we see in the United States,” Dannenbring said. “With the capital backing that we have – we have great shareholders at TELEO Capital – the brand recognition that we have here and abroad and with the Fleetsu platform, that provides a springboard for us to open up some very significant international opportunities as well. We see this as a springboard for our future growth aspirations.” https://ift.tt/ugbqLPh |
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April 2023
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