With over 2,000 attendees and 80-plus exhibitors gathered in Nashville, TN, for TMW and PeopleNet's 2017 in.sight user conference and exposition, talk quickly turned to discussing major technology trends such as the chances of an electronic logging device (ELD) mandate delay and how data analysis will usher in a new wave of transportation efficiency. (All photos: Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)
...Read the rest of this storyThird party logistics provider (3PL) Transplace is being acquired by private equity firm TPG Capital for an undisclosed sum, buying out Greenbriar Equity Group LLC, which acquired the 3PL back in 2013.
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...Read the rest of this storyDavid Wangler (left) and Brian McLaughlin will head the two new Trimble divisions. Photo: Trimble
">David Wangler (left) and Brian McLaughlin will head the two new Trimble divisions. Photo: Trimble
">Trimble has created two divisions as part of its transportation segment, Trimble Transportation Mobility and Trimble Transportation Enterprise, to address the changing marketplace.
The creation of Trimble Transportation Mobility aims to address the complex business challenges such as driver shortages, reduced capacity, safety and compliance and regulations. The new division will be focused on developing solutions that connect, drivers, trucks, freight, and data to improve performance and return on investment.
Trimble Transportation Enterprise will serve for-hire and private fleets, freight brokers, third-party logistics providers and other businesses through a portfolio that includes transportation management systems; routing, scheduling, mileage, mapping and mobile navigation solutions; business intelligence and data analytics; asset maintenance software; cloud solutions; and a variety of other products and services.
Trimble announced the new divisions at the in.sight User Conference +Expo, a joint user conference between PeopleNet and TMW Systems. Trimble is a software, hardware and services company that builds enterprise solutions products for a broad range of industries, including transportation, logistics, and construction.
Brian McLaughlin, president of PeopleNet, has been appointed to president of Trimble Transportation Mobility. The newly-formed division will include several Trimble business units: PeopleNet, Innovative Software Engineering (ISE), Trimble Oil & Gas Services, Trimble Final Mile Mobility, Trimble Mobility Solutions India (TMSI), and several other mobile startup initiatives.
“The transportation marketplace is evolving at a rapid pace and we must develop technology that drives efficiency, precision and simplicity throughout the supply chain. Trimble Transportation Mobility brings together a comprehensive set of solutions and industry expertise,” said McLaughlin. “By improving collaboration across our respective businesses, we can ensure that Trimble continues to lead in delivering innovative products to our diverse set of customers and their drivers. We are positioning ourselves for continued growth through a market-centric approach ...Read the rest of this story
With the first total solar eclipse to reach the continental United States since 1979 taking place on Aug. 21, warnings in recent weeks have been going out warning of heavy traffic disruptions.
In reality, states in the path of the eclipse and companies that provide real-time routing have been preparing for this rare event for many months.
A total solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the Sun and Earth. The result is all sunlight being briefly blocked, turning day into darkness.
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...Read the rest of this storyDeborah Lockridge
" >Deborah Lockridge
" width="185" height="242">“Forced into debt. Worked past exhaustion. Left with nothing.”
That's the subhead of a USA Today report, “Rigged,” which earlier this summer highlighted abuses of leased owner-operator drivers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The newspaper found that some drivers were working long hours and taking home very little – in some cases none – of their paychecks after their lease payments and other expenses were deducted.
The report claimed that in some cases drivers were being forced to work as much as 20 hours in a day, far past the maximum allowed by law, with drivers alleging that their supervisors threatened to take their jobs or assign lower-paying routes as punishment if they did not.
The Harbor Trucking Association told HDT that the cases in the USA Today report were cherry-picked for their extremeness or were not completely explained.
“It focuses on a very small subset of the industry, and what we forget to point out is the 90-plus percent of drivers who prefer to be independent contractors and have made that business model work,” said HTA Executive Director Weston LaBar in an e-mail.
And that's long been my complaint about “misclassification” crusades by the Teamsters (especially at the ports), by state agencies, and by the U.S. Department of Labor. In an effort to address abuses like those described in the USA Today report (and to collect employment taxes government agencies think they're missing out on), these efforts throw the baby out with the bathwater, making it much harder for carriers and drivers to maintain legitimate contractor relationships.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of horror stories out there about owner-operator lease-purchase programs, and not just at the ports. Over the years, I've heard complaints about these programs at carriers both large and small. If you offer a ...Read the rest of this story
Despite how easy it is to install electronic logging devices and having the ability to use an app to log time, “it still takes fleet management and drivers generally a couple of months to get comfortable with the technology,” advises Tom Reader of ELD supplier J.J. Keller. Photos: J.J. Keller
">Despite how easy it is to install electronic logging devices and having the ability to use an app to log time, “it still takes fleet management and drivers generally a couple of months to get comfortable with the technology,” advises Tom Reader of ELD supplier J.J. Keller. Photos: J.J. Keller
">To loosely paraphrase what John Wayne barked at the dawn of a long day in “The Cowboys,” if you haven't started gearing up to comply with the new ELD rule, you could end up burning more than daylight.
When it comes to complying with the electronic logging mandate, fleets and drivers alike are now well into the eleventh hour before the new rule kicks in. That will be just about four months from now, on Dec. 18.
Come that day, all carriers subject to the ELD rule will have to convert from using paper logs or logging software to a registered ELD if they do not have an automatic on-board recording device in use. And those using AOBRDs prior to the mandate will only be able to keep using them until Dec. 16, 2019.
The other key part of the rule applies to ELD suppliers, which must ensure their devices conform to technical specs set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, self-certify those devices, and register them with FMCSA.
FMCSA last year advised carriers and drivers that before buying an ELD, they “should confirm that the device is certified and registered with FMCSA...Devices not vendor-certified by manufacturers and registered with FMCSA may not be compliant with the FMCSRs.”
Something critical to grasp is that the rule will not be stopped or even delayed at this point. The last, best hope to stave off the mandate came on June 12 when the Supreme Court denied the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association's petition that it rule on whether ...Read the rest of this story
Brian McLaughlin, president of PeopleNet addressing the opening session of the in.sight User Conference + Expo. Photo: Jim Beach
">Brian McLaughlin, president of PeopleNet addressing the opening session of the in.sight User Conference + Expo. Photo: Jim Beach
">The on-demand economy was the focus on day one of PeopleNet and TMW Systems' in.sight Conference, examining how transportation businesses must become increasingly interconnected to keep up with the market. PeopleNet and TMW are both part of Trimble's transportation and logistics division.
The message was delivered to an audience of fleet professionals, third-party logistics providers, freight brokers and other transportation industry personnel during the opening general session of the 2017 PeopleNet and TMW Systems in.sight User Conference + Expo in Nashville, Tenn.
TMW president David Wangler and PeopleNet president Brian McLaughlin, emphasized advancements in mobile technology in their opening addresses, connecting the rise of mobile technology with the rise of B2B and B2C eCommerce and the omni channel business model. They explained that as online sales grow and consumer expectations increase, the transportation industry is becoming more reliant on data to deliver products quickly and efficiently.
“Regardless of product category, the on-demand economy is revolutionizing the movement of goods from supplier to end user,” said Wangler. “The digital mobility first offered in early devices has today become the catalyst for the millions of business-critical actions occurring every second.”
The changes from the shift toward an on-demand economy have spurred increased diversification among for-hire carriers, brokers, 3PLs and private fleets, according to Wangler. This has caused transportation businesses to seek technologies that allow near-real time decision making through the use of predictive analytics, and visibility into each step of the order and fulfillment process.
McLaughlin spoke about achieving a connected supply chain to address the competitive challenges associated with an on-demand economy, and how Trimble's transportation businesses could assist companies looking to capitalize on growth opportunities in the market.
“Trimble is leading the industry in developing innovative solutions that help ...Read the rest of this story
