Survey: Small Carriers More Wary of ELD Mandate

A survey conducted by transportation management and logistics provider Transplace has revealed that 38% of small carriers had no immediate plans to implement electronic logging devices ahead of the mandated deadline.

The survey included more than 400 carriers of various profiles. It found that responses to the ELD mandate and its expected impact on capacity and utilization varied heavily by fleet size.

“While created to improve safety within the transportation industry, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's ELD mandate has left shippers and carriers with a lot of questions: How will this impact driver productivity; will drivers leave the industry as a result; will smaller carriers close up and leave the industry,” said Frank McGuigan, president and chief operating officer, Transplace.

In the survey, 81% of large fleets with more than 250 trucks reported that they had already achieved full ELD implementation. The remaining 19% of large fleets were working towards implementation. This contrasts with small carriers, showing that only 33% had fully integrated ELDs into their fleets.

While all large fleets had at least begun the process of implementation, more than a third of small fleets had no immediate plans to implement ELDs.

“One carrier responded to the survey by saying, ‘I will sell out first.'”

“Implementation of ELDs has been significantly slower for carriers with smaller fleets. While some carriers are still researching the technology, others indicated that they are holding out in the hope that the mandate will be overturned in court,” said Ben Cubitt, senior vice president, consulting and engineering, Transplace. “One carrier responded to the survey by saying, ‘I will sell out first.'”

Smaller fleets were also shown to be more wary of the negative effects ELDs could have on capacity and utilization. While 56% of large fleets expected decreased utilization from ELDs, 64% of small fleets expected ...Read the rest of this story

FTR Conference: Expect a Freight Recovery, Just Not a Big One

Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist with the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, expects a fourth-quarter spike in production. Photo: Evan Lockridge

While a recovery for freight and the overall U.S. economy is in the cards for the fourth quarter of the year, those attending the first sessions of the FTR Transportation Conference in Indianapolis on Wednesday were also told by experts they should not expect a huge boom.

Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist with the industry group the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), said that after a long while July shows “the first indication that the manufacturing inventory-to-sales ratios are falling” after higher levels hurt freight shipments earlier in the year. The July level is also the lowest in about two years.

“In the future, we are going to get a spike in production, I think is going to occur in the fourth quarter … not only in the manufacturing sector but [also] in the U.S. economy,” he said.

The reason, Meckstroth said, is that inventory cycles, such as the high one manufacturing has experienced lately, are usually short. When they are over, you typically see a spike in production.

High inventories have been a drag on economic activity as well as freight movements, but now they are coming into closer balance. This results not only in better sales of manufactured goods but others as well, resulting in an improvement in the general economy.

Helping this along is the ever-resilient U.S. consumer, who accounts for about 70% of all U.S. economic activity. Meckstroth said “consumers are keeping us out of a recession.” How are they doing it? Because, as he put it, “we are in a jobs boom, with the percentage of new jobs being adding being much faster than overall economic expansion.”

“It's new jobs creating new income…that's what's propelling ...Read the rest of this story

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Chevin, CalAmp Partner for Integrated Telematics Data

Chevin Fleet Solutions has adopted CalAmp's telematics services for its fleet asset management software. The solution, named FleetWave Connect, will enable Chevin's U.S.-based fleet management customers to see integrated telematics information including odometer, fuel, and engine diagnostics to better schedule, manage, and perform maintenance on their fleet assets.

“Fleet managers need more timely and accurate data to shed light on where their equipment is operating and how it's being used,” said Ron Katz, North American senior vice president for Chevin Fleet Solutions. “Integration with CalAmp's Telematics Cloud provides a cost-effective way for our clients to view critical and actionable performance data within Chevin's fleet management software.”

CalAmp will provide these components of the FleetWave Connect solution: CalAmp Telematics Cloud; LMU-3000 Series with OBD II Interface, which provides access to vehicle diagnostic data, tracking vehicle speed, and location, certain driving behaviors, and pre- and post-impact data; and LMU-4200 Series Enterprise-Grade Fleet Management Gateway, which provides flexible, expandable support for a broad range of connection options for vehicles.

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