By Asparuh Koev, CEO of Transmetrics
June 19, 2024
Have you ever gone to a big conference, seen industry leaders like DHL and UPS boasting huge cost savings with their digital fleet, looked at your own volumes and thought, “How is my trucking company ever going to keep up?”
It’s a common feeling. Finding the right tools with the complexity of logistics is a challenge. There are so many parameters to measure that it can be difficult to standardize data and automate processes the way you might like.
This mindset has left truckers feeling the squeeze with significant decreases in freight spending in Q1 2024. Flatbeds, dry vans, and refrigerated load volumes are below FTR’s five-year average by 38%, 28%, and 32%, respectively. How can we bring balance back to the industry?
Trucking companies need to look at their data creatively, drilling down on comparisons across vehicle types, trade lanes, and customers. Truck GPS, fuel consumption, and customer data paired with analytics can get significant cost savings — even for smaller fleets.
Monitor Driver and Vehicle Performance
It’s important to find a balance between keeping drivers safe and well-rested while making the most of driving time to ensure they get home on schedule, and healthy.
Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) help trucking companies collect data on driving time, off-duty time, and on-duty non-driving time according to the location’s legal hours of service. Truck telematics often include ELDs as a subset, along with other critical information, to ensure optimal vehicle usage.
Truckers can use telematics to measure engine data and pinpoint excessive idling periods, harsh breaking, and speeding. Charts that show the impact of driver behavior on fuel consumption and trip efficiency are great resources for training teams to be the best drivers on the roads.
Moreover, knowing how often and how long trucks are on the road helps optimize fleet allocation and identify underused vehicles. Vehicle health monitoring, as well as maintenance scheduling, can be enhanced using GPS tracking systems and telematics to inform and predict maintenance needs, taking into account the operated terrain that affects the braking system, for instance. These advanced navigation devices provide constant location data, helping calculate fuel efficiency across total miles to forecast the wear and tear of parts and optimize routes for future trips.
Control Fuel Efficiency
Optimizing fuel efficiency goes beyond adding sleek exteriors with aerodynamic tools and cabs. Advanced powertrain and engine technologies might offer fleets even greater fuel cost savings. How would you know? Measure it.
While collecting gas bills is one way to put a finger on how fuel efficient your fleet is, automated fuel transaction processing saves a lot of data collection time — and leaves less room for accidental typos.
When you have your fuel data listed alongside actual mileage, you can monitor fuel efficiency over time and across vehicle types, models, and trade lanes. This targeted analysis helps truckers identify routes and vehicles that are consistently more efficient, prompting them to explore why.
Equipped with detailed information on the best driving behavior, routes, and vehicles, trucking companies can set clear fuel efficiency targets, allowing for quick identification of unexpected spikes in fuel usage. These alerts trigger logistics planners to investigate causes such as route changes, poor driver habits, or vehicle maintenance issues and determine what resolution, whether training or truck check-ups, is in order.
Maximize Revenue and Profitability
Wouldn’t it be great to know the actual income generated per kilometer driven? You could create dynamic pricing strategies and identify routes or clients with lower profitability to adjust your packages accordingly.
In addition, monitoring daily and weekly revenue trends allows companies to identify periods of high or low income. This helps with budgeting, resource allocation, and potentially taking advantage of seasonal fluctuations in demand.
The worst drain on any trucking company’s costs is transporting an empty fleet. By tracking loaded vs. empty miles and paid vs. unpaid miles, companies can identify inefficiencies. Uber Freight estimates US trucks drive 20-35% of miles empty, wasting billions annually. Data allows you to optimize routes to minimize empty miles and negotiate better contracts to reduce unpaid travel. Logistics planners could schedule upcoming drop-offs with pick-ups in the same region to bring the truck back home full.
Analyzing revenue and profitability by customer, trade lane, vehicle type, and commodity type helps determine the most profitable areas. Companies can then focus resources on these segments and potentially seek new customers in certain regions to create the right balance.
The trucking industry faces a complex economic landscape. By tracking key performance indicators like real price per kilometer or miles, revenue trends, and loaded vs. empty miles, trucking companies can gain valuable insights to optimize operations. This data-driven approach empowers you to make informed decisions on pricing strategies, route planning, and resource allocation, ultimately boosting your bottom line.
About the author
Asparuh Koev is Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Transmetrics. Transmetrics optimizes transport planning by leveraging the power of machine learning and predictive analytics. Transmetrics combines the strengths of humans and artificial intelligence, ensuring the highest operational benefits and reducing the environmental impact of logistics.
