Report: Autonomous Trucks Could Kill Millions of Jobs by 2030

Photo via International Transport Forum report. 

LEIPZIG, GERMANY— Autonomous trucking might solve the driver shortage problem, save money and reduce emissions, but the massive job losses and other problems caused by the shift over the next 13 years might well lead to serious social disruption. Regulating agencies, industry, and governments in North America and Europe should start planning for the change now.

That's the gist of a new broad-sweeping report released today by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), the International Transport Workers' Federation and the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the road transport's industry's global body, in a project led by the International Transport Forum, a Paris-based intergovernmental organisation linked to the OECD.

Despite the ungainly title “Managing The Transition to Driverless Roadfreight Transport,” the extensive report doesn't pull punches. Autonomous trucks will lead to huge layoffs. And if regulating bodies don't start working together now to adopt driverless technology, chaos could ensue.

“Automated trucks could reduce the demand for drivers by 50-70% in the US and Europe by 2030, with up to 4.4 million of the projected 6.4 million professional trucking jobs becoming redundant, according to one scenario,” the report says.

Even if the rise of driverless truck dissuades newcomers from trucking, over two million drivers in the U.S. and Europe could be directly displaced, the report says.

The report has four main recommendations for stakeholders and regulators involved in the transportation industry:

To download the entire report, click here.

Related: The Dark Side of Autonomous Tech Nobody Wants to Talk About

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Economic Watch: Manufacturing Firms, Construction Down as Personal Spending Jumps

Results from two surveys of the nation's purchasing executives indicate manufacturing activity in the U.S. during May was nearly unchanged from the month before. Meanwhile, separate reports show construction spending eased, but consumer spending increased, resulting in hopes that the current quarter will be stronger for the overall economy than the previous one.

The Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 54.9%, up 0.1 of a percentage point from the month before, but slightly less than a consensus estimate from analysts of 55%.

This marked the 9th straight month of growth and the 96th consecutive month the manufacturing economy has expanded with a reading above 50%, according to the supply management organization.

The New Orders Index registered 59.5%, an increase of 2 percentage points from the April reading while the Production Index registered 57.1%, a decline of 1.5 percentage points from April. Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 15 reported growth in May.

While the overall May reading doesn't look that strong “the details are very healthy,” said analysts at Econoday, with new orders coming in at a very strong rate while production was also strong with gains in import orders and employment, all indicating a “steady and impressive” report.

A similar survey from financial information services provider IHS Markit shows manufacturing activity in May fell slightly to an eight-month low.

Its final May U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index fell to 52.7, the weakest reading since September, but above the 50 no-change value. A preliminary reading for May, released just over a week ago, had the index slightly lower at 52.5.

This latest reading pointed to a further growth slowdown from the 22-month high recorded in January of 55. Weaker new business growth and softer job creation helped to offset a marginally stronger upturn in production volumes, according to the report.

May data indicated that manufacturing ...Read the rest of this story

Route4Me launches on Geotab Marketplace

Route4Me Inc. announced the availability of Route4Me on the Geotab Marketplace, a source for organizations requiring an open IoT fleet management platform. Route4Me provides Geotab customers with route sequencing and optimization software integrated with Geotab's real-time vehicle tracking platform.

Features of the Route4Me and Geotab platform integration include:

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ATRI seeks for-hire carrier operational cost data

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) issued a data call for the annual update to its Operational Costs of Trucking report. The online questionnaire seeks to capture basic cost information from for-hire motor carriers such as driver pay, fuel costs, insurance premiums and lease or purchase payments. Carriers are asked to provide full-year 2016 cost per mile and/or cost per hour data.

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Continental releases VDO RoadLog Office Solo

Continental announced it has released VDO RoadLog Office Solo, an online tool for fleet management and compliance reporting that provides FMCSA compliance with no monthly fees. VDO RoadLog Office Solo is the entry service level offered in the VDO RoadLog Office suite of online fleet management tools, the company said.

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What You Should Know About Tire and Wheel Balancing

Balancing tires and wheels before they are installed helps ensure a smooth ride and better tread life. Photo by Jim Park

The jury is still out on wheel balancing. We now have certified tests that show a small percentage of improvement in fuel efficiency, and balancing has proven to help prevent certain forms of life-robbing irregular wear, but it's not a routine maintenance item at a large number of fleets.

Years ago, before the big-name tire manufacturers got really good at producing tires, balancing was almost a requirement. Today, with much tighter manufacturing tolerances and state-of-the-art tools, tires are much more uniform and consistent in build. You can make an argument that modern tires really do not need balancing.

On the other hand, after the first mile of use the tire is no longer the same as the day it left the factory. Rubber scrubs off, chunks of tread get ripped away, irregular wear scrubs away tread rubber and on it goes. Maintaining balance in that tire may require some outside help.

Fred Staugh, vice president of maintenance at CRST, does not balance his tires. He spends a little more time ensuring they are mounted properly. He believes that unless there's a defect in the tire, if the tire and wheel assembly is round and running true, it won't need balancing.

"When I say round, I'm talking 60- or 90-thousandths of an inch of tolerance on radial and lateral runout as measured with a dial indicator," he says. "If you have that inspection process down and you use those guidelines, there's no reason on Earth to balance a steer tire."

Staugh believes you can eliminate the need to balance tires just by installing them properly and then checking them for runout and a heavy spot while on the vehicle. He says rims should be inspected ...Read the rest of this story

Getting a fresh look at Volvo’s new VNR

Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) provided journalists with a chance to get up close and personal with its new VNR regional haul tractor during a special ride and drive event in Winston-Salem, NC; a tractor that the OEM only recently unveiled to the industry.

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