The future of transportation is a hotly debated topic among businesses and drivers alike. What will future semi-trucks look like? Will future truck drivers in America be able to find work as self-driving trucks become more common?
Today’s developments are already affecting the future of the trucking business and influencing how truckers operate. Here’s everything you need to know about truck driving to better prepare your organization today and in the future.
The astute carrier should pay attention to present industry trends, as these patterns can be a good predictor of future logistics and CDL training developments. The following are current industry developments with potential long-term repercussions.
1. Autonomous trucking
Autonomous haulage and semi-autonomous technology are expected to acquire substantial popularity by 2025. The continuing development and adoption of technologies such as adaptive cruise control and advanced radar safety systems will not only increase road safety but also help with fuel efficiency and driver weariness.
While we may not see autonomous vehicle fleets by 2025, as these technologies improve, many pieces of trucking news suggest that more companies will most certainly see a gradual transition toward increasing automation.
2. Data-driven route optimization
The power of data is great.
Although the news is full of tales about new data-driven technologies, you don’t hear much about why it is defining one of the most important technology trends in the transportation industry. Real-time data has a variety of uses for freight carriers, including analytics, machine learning algorithms, and generative AI, the most important of which is voyage planning.
Data-driven route optimization is a new tool that employs algorithms and real-time information to improve efficiency and reduce fuel usage. Traditionally, carriers, operators, and drivers would receive updates from their supply chain, but they would be delayed, reducing the effectiveness of their reactions.
Real-time data feeds allow carriers to analyze traffic, weather, and vehicle performance. Data analytics allows carrier organizations to better maintain inventory while also gaining visibility into driver behavior on the road to identify areas for improvement. These will substantially influence the elimination of surplus capacity while driving down labor and inventory expenses.
3. Rising fuel costs
Fuel costs have always been unpredictable, but the days of rock-bottom oil prices in early 2020 are over. Everything from imminent taxes to global events have had an impact on the availability of oil, driving up prices.
To compensate for growing prices, the trucking industry must focus on driver training and more efficient driving methods. Teaching drivers to avoid speeding and other fuel-intensive habits will help to reduce fuel expenses while increasing revenues per load.
Most analysts believe that truck travel will continue to require more fuel expenditures, at least until electric vehicles become available.
4. Need for Increased Efficiency
Drivers and carriers will continue to demand more efficiency in all aspects of truck driving. Accurate information will be critical in allowing carriers to realize higher profits and drivers to maximize their take-home income, so anticipate a surge in software and technologies that touch every business area.
Drivers’ lives are expected to be enhanced by systems that can generate more optimal travel routes and let them better estimate loading and unloading times once they arrive at shippers. Carriers will benefit from systems enabling them to monitor and run trucks more efficiently, resulting in higher freight hauling margins.
5. Increasing Technology Use
The trucking business is undergoing a technological revolution anticipated to last until 2025 and beyond. Major changes are being driven by developments in electronic logging devices (ELDs), transportation management systems (TMS), and autonomous vehicle technologies. These advances have the potential to completely transform the sector through improved route optimization, increased fuel efficiency, and simplified fleet administration.
By adopting these technologies, trucking companies can anticipate more efficiency, lower costs, and enhanced output.
What does the future of trucking look like?
Emerging technologies are propelling the transportation sector forward and shaping the future of trucking.
Let’s examine what people might expect from trucking in the long term.
1. Electric trucks
Future semi-trucks are expected to be fully electric. As environmental concerns gain traction, the gas-guzzling behemoths that everyone is accustomed to will become obsolete.
The trucking business accounts for a significant share of global transportation-related carbon emissions. As electric vehicles become the norm, the trucks of the future will run on electricity rather than gasoline.
2. Automation
Full automation will manage everything from ideal truck routes to fleet management. Even now, the industry strives to automate as much of the process as possible to increase productivity and, as a result, profitability.
Some businesses are already leveraging automation in incredible ways. For example, containers may no longer require human assistance to load and unload. Instead, automated trains can transport containers throughout facilities and onto vehicles.
3. Self-driving Trucks
Experts expect that trucks in the future will be entirely autonomous.
While self-driving cars have been extensively tested, they are not yet available to the public due to safety concerns. Because trucks are substantially larger than cars, self-driving trucks will take longer to reach highways, potentially many years to a decade or more.
Once self-driving trucks are on the road, they will most likely be supervised by humans. Expect self-driving trucks to evolve into a hybrid model where the vehicle drives itself while a human operator stays in the cab to take manual control.
In the end!
What is certain about the future of trucking is that each day puts us closer to most of the country’s 3.5 million truck drivers having their professions transformed or replaced by technology. However, automation involves more than upgrading equipment and vehicles. Although the future of the trucking business remains uncertain, technology will undoubtedly be a key driving force behind the changes to come.
