Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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52 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MARCH 2014 Text INFO to 205-289-3554 or visit www.ccjdigital.com/info technology E ver since the late 1980s when Qual- comm started a revolution in mobile communications with Omnitracs, GPS fleet management systems have become more prevalent in the transportation industry. By now, more than 25 years later, it would seem that the market would be saturated. That's not the case. In some respects it is saturated, at least for the larger fleets. But according to a large in-depth study by C.J. Driscoll and Associates, the market is still ripe and full of opportunity. The research firm recently released its "2013-14 Survey of Fleet Operator Interest in MRM Systems and Services." The study is the largest of the U.S. commercial telematics market to be conducted in recent years. Of the 508 fleet operators who partic- ipated in the study, 42 percent operate Class 6-8 trucks. One-third of the total sample is truckload carriers, private truck- ing fleets or local common carriers. Seventeen percent of the overall sample said they expect to acquire some type of GPS-based fleet management solution in the next 12 to 18 months. The study also showed a strong level of satisfaction with their current systems – 4.1 on a scale of 5. "That is a very good sign for industry growth," said Clem Driscoll, president of C.J. Driscoll and Associates. Companies that supply GPS fleet man- agement systems were expecting to see an increase in demand for their products when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in fall 2010 that it would mandate the use of electronic logging devices, formerly known as elec- tronic onboard recorders. After being challenged in the courts over the possibility that e-logs could be used to harass drivers, FMCSA went back to the drawing board. The agency is expected to propose a new rule any day to mandate e-logs, which likely would go into effect sometime in 2015 at the earliest. The study found that a majority of fleets, and smaller fleets in particular, were not planning to acquire an ELD solution before they become mandatory. While 36 percent of fleets said they now are using a GPS fleet management system, the number changes by fleet size. About 25 percent of fleets with less than 50 vehicles have a system, whereas more than half of fleets with 100 or more vehicles have one. Also, more than two-thirds of truckload carriers and private fleets that have a GPS fleet management system have the technol- ogy integrated with their vehicles' databus to capture performance information. – Aaron Huff Market for GPS fleet management still growing, study shows