How Internet of Things has made the Trucking Industry better?

In the year 2016, there were approximately 4,93,730 trucking companies in the U.S., as per a report by FMCSA. Even today, most of the small business owners in the U.S. are truckers. So, as this industry grows, it becomes necessary to track several statistics of this industry in real-time. Factors like the load on the trucks, time required for loading and unloading of goods, traffic on the travel routes, Tracking the vehicles in real time, etc. are important to the fleet managers and truck owners of the businesses.

The Internet of Things (IoT) plays a significant role here. It has connected sensors, electronic monitors, actuators, GPS Receivers, RFID systems, beacons, etc.  with a network of physical devices, appliances, vehicles, and other items for data collection and communication. IoT in transportation and trucking industry has provided several promising solutions to develop powerful applications and systems.

Let’s look in detail about what this futuristic technology has in store for the ever-growing trucking and transportation business.

Role of IoT in the Trucking Industry!

IoT-based solutions are transforming the trucking industry in unbelievable ways. They assure better transparency, higher operational efficiency and enhanced security and ultimately increase the profit margins. Trucks which has Sensors connected, travel via different routes and at various locations sensors collect and send data to the decision-makers for the insights that help in gaining better results.

In the year 2015, Saia LTL Freight Inc., a reputed trucking company in America, had installed sensors in their trucks for tracking fuel usage, maintenance needs, and many other performance metrics. This raised the fuel efficiency of the company by 6% saving millions of dollars.

An excellent example of IoT-based solutions for trucking industry is AppWeigh. It is a specially designed mobile app which uses Bluetooth-enabled weight sensor to measure the load on air suspension trucks and trailers throughout its shipment. The truck weight is directly sent to the owners on their smartphones to keep them informed. The owners can ensure that their trucks and goods are safely and legally loaded to the destination. This app can be useful to individual truck owners as well as transportation and trucking companies as they alert the drivers and managers when the weight in the vehicle crosses the permissible limit and thereby facilitates them to take immediate action.

How IoT impacts the Trucking Industry?

Real-time monitoring:

In the trucking industry, IoT is used for tracking the real-time location of trucks, load on the trucks, condition of goods, traffic in the route, etc. IoT-enabled GPS trackers are used to continuously monitor and track the location of vehicles. This real-time data is transmitted to a central system and then updated to mobile phones using the internet. Thus, IoT allows the drivers, fleet managers or owners to respond quickly to situations like traffic jams, bad weather conditions, and re-routing the trucks, avoiding delays. 

Also, when it comes to transportation of perishable goods that are environmentally sensitive, IoT devices are used to keep watch on the temperatures of goods, vibrations or shocks in the trucks, etc. For instance, a truck carrying biological and biopharmaceutical medicines need to maintain them at certain temperatures during transportation. IoT systems notify the fleet drivers and managers about the temperature changes in real-time. This keeps the medicines in good condition and also avoids any dangerous situations.

With the use of IoT, maintenance schedules of trucks can be optimized and unnecessary miles or idle times can be eliminated. This reduces the wastefulness of time and also improves fleet management.

Inventory management and warehousing:

Beacon integration, BLE connectivity, RFID tags, smart scanning and detecting sensors, etc. are used to track the products and inventory in companies. It helps in efficiently managing the warehouse space, easy delivery of the goods and automatic management of the orders. It is used to make the managers aware of the number of goods through SMS, email notification, etc. Thus, IoT contributes to improving the overall warehouse performance.

Enhanced safety and security:

IoT provides robust security services to vehicles as well as drivers and managers. Cameras and sensors help to detect dangerous and life-threatening situations like vehicle breakdown, bad weather conditions, etc., in advance and convey to the concerned personnel on their smartphones. The IoT systems also alert the drivers about the maintenance schedules of the truck in time. It keeps the trucks in good health and reduces the chances of any mishaps. These systems also help drivers to locate nearby refueling spots when the trucks reach low fuel levels.

Compliance with Government rules:

Trucks need to follow strict government regulations. As per the Electronic Logging Device mandate, the drivers need to install electric devices in their truck, which will track the working hours and activities of the drivers. As per the law, drivers cannot drive for more than 10 hours a day. Because of this law, drivers had to maintain logbooks to record their working hours. With the adoption of IoT in transportation and trucking industry, all the companies can easily comply with this law.

Retention of drivers:

IoT-linked trucks help the drivers do their jobs faster and with enhanced safety. IoT saves the drivers from paper works by automatically updating the fleet managers about the delivery timings, weight of the goods, etc. Drivers can get assistance regarding troubleshooting and service instructions when required. They can be informed in advance about changes in routes, off-duty hours, traffic timings, bad weather, etc.

Final Words:

IoT has brought incredible advancements in the trucking industry. Companies can leverage the connectivity of IoT devices for predictive and preventive analysis and streamlining different processes. Whether it is fleet monitoring, Transport inventory management, Geofencing, Remote area monitoring, monitoring traffic conditions for trucking routes, monitoring the load carried by trucks, controlling the temperatures or estimating the downtime, trucking  business can manage their operations efficiently because of the adoption of IoT in this industry. IoT has proved to be a secure, reliable and cost-effective way to boost the bottom line of the trucking businesses.

This article was just like a drop in the ocean when we talk about the advantages of IoT in the trucking and transportation industry. There is a lot to discuss.

So, do you also think IoT-based solutions have brought pioneering changes in this industry?