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  • Due To ELD & Tariffs, Shippers Must Adjust // Press Round Up Week of 4/2-6

    Due To ELD & Tariffs, Shippers Must Adjust // Press Round Up Week of 4/2-6

    The driver shortage is starting to squeeze shippers even more tightly as the first official week of the ELD mandate enforcement comes to a close. With the tariffs and advancements in detention pay, shippers that are already seeing their profit margins shrink need to start looking into supply chain solutions that will help them become more flexible. Here are 5 articles from this week to help get you started.

    MOL Group aims to secure US truck capacity for Asian vendors

    With the right partnerships, shippers can find space even in the tightest of markets. Journal of Commerce featured NEXT Trucking’s new partnership with the MOL Group this week, highlighting the capacity benefits that the deal would provide to overseas vendors. At a time when trucker volume is getting tight, we’re proud to deliver a one-stop logistics and shipping solution for on-the-road trucking, warehousing, and drayage to customers in and out of the U.S.

    U.S. Trucking Prices Are About to Rise Even More

    2018’s forecast looks bleak for shippers’ profit margins. Bloomberg reports on the impact a driver shortage increase in the wake of official ELD enforcement could have on spot rates and contract prices this year. The article also looks at how the ELD mandate is affecting drayage drivers and the industry conversations concerning the mandate.

    All Tariffs, All the Time

    The announcement of recent tariffs on U.S. products has left the manufacturing, agricultural, and transportation industries feeling pressure from increased costs and a potential trade war with China. Logistics Management published a column breaking down the potential impact these tariffs could have on these industries with expert insight on what the end result of this tariff war could potentially be.

    Blockchain tech could put teeth in detention pay

    With technological advancement, detention pay could cut further into shipper earnings. This piece from Overdrive features a new “smart contract” system that uses geofencing and GPS to track if a driver has been waiting for a load for more than two hours. It’s a smart way to kick slow shippers into high gear and force them to improve their supply chain efficiency.

    Supply Chain Commentary: Boost Productivity, Efficiency, and Security in Your Warehouse

    If your profit margins are at risk of being hit by the shortage and ELDs, a quick way to look at ways to optimize your supply chain is by using data. This column from Inbound Logistics looks at how you can use data about your employee output to encourage better performance, as well as improve warehouse security.

  • Watch NEXT Trucking CEO Lidia Yan Speak at the Recurring Revenue Conference 2018

    Screenshot taken from recording of Recurring Revenue Rockstars: Success Stories You Haven’t Heard.” 

    Our CEO and Co-founder Lidia Yan joined the “Recurring Revenue Rockstars: Success Stories You Haven’t Heard” panel at the Recurring Revenue Conference in April to talk about being a woman in the trucking industry, what separates the company from its competitors, and the driver shortage. Watch the full panel, courtesy of the Recurring Revenue Conference and Sutton Capital Partners, below or click through this link to watch it on Vimeo. Here are some quote highlights:

    On Lynwood, where NEXT Trucking is headquartered:

    “It’s the center of logistics. We’re surrounded by truckers. Our product team goes out to the warehouse to talk to truck drivers, so we understand their needs very well, so that’s how we can build a product that’s really servicing the needs of the truck drivers.”

    On the challenges of starting a business in the trucking industry:
    “I think the biggest surprise I had was how difficult it was…I’m an Asian and I’m an immigrant, [and] I have an accent, and I’m a founder in the trucking space, which is 96% male… we delivered $11 million for our first year, … we were profitable, we had less than 20 people, we were using the money very efficiently, but it took us 3 months [to secure funding]. I got questions like, ‘How long have you been in the U.S.? Do you even drive a truck?’”

    Her advice to entrepreneurs:
    “Set your goal, your vision clearly, bring in the people who share your vision – who understand your mission of the company [and share] common goals, and drive toward that vision together… we enjoy working with each other, we enjoy coming into the office every day, so this is something that is very valuable that we are very fortunate that we started very early.”

     

     

     

    Click here to watch the full interview. 

  • Full Truckload Capacity: Best Practices on How to Maximize Your Capacity

    Full Truckload Capacity: Best Practices on How to Maximize Your Capacity

    Over the last year there has been a great deal of talk about the expected impact of the ELD (Electronic Logging Device) Mandate. Many of the conversations had centered around the anticipated impact with respect to capacity that was anticipated to be felt starting in December of 2017 and then would be at an acute level starting April 1, 2018 once full enforcement occurred.

    Now with the ELD mandate in full effect, many shippers are looking for effective ways to expand their FTL capacity. At NEXT Trucking we are a carrier, a broker, and our sister company, IDC is a 3PL. As a result, we are in a unique position to understand some of the challenges our industry faces and how technology can enable success and have a dramatic impact on our business and that of our clients.

    We seem to be approaching the perfect storm in 2018 and there are several factors that contribute to the current market conditions. Some of the most impactful conditions include:

    • Aging carrier population – As an industry we are not recruiting enough young talent to replace the current generation of carriers.
    • Low national unemployment rate – A reduced demand for work and low carrier pay rates make driving a truck a less desirable alternative. Pay rates are beginning to increase but we will see if they will increase fast enough to make a difference.
    • Carrier shortage – There is a significant carrier shortage. Long haul trucking is a difficult job that puts carriers on the road many days and weeks during the year. Companies are using relays and drop yards to try to keep carriers more local but this can still be a challenge in recruiting carriers.
    • Aging carrier base – The carrier pool is not getting any bigger. The same companies are competing for the same carriers leading to high turnover rates that can reach 80-100% a year for some fleets.
    • Nationwide economic growth – While there is a great deal of growing uncertainty reflected in the stock market as we navigate through potential trade wars due to tariffs with several of our largest trading partners, the economy is expected to grow at a 2.5 to 3% rate.
    • The rise of digital commerce – E-commerce growth has had a tremendous surge during the 3rd and 4th quarters. While this has a large impact on the parcel business, it also has a tremendous impact on truckload volume, as well as product that is moved to DCS and final mile deconsolidation centers.

    How do we maximize capacity in this market and become a “Preferred Shipper”?

    Data Analytics:

    Use data to manage your business. You can always make decisions and act on your impulses and feelings, but having data to identify opportunities for improvement will enable you to be more strategic in putting programs in place to support your carriers. Carriers don’t make money when they are waiting at your facility to be loaded or while they are waiting at destination to be unloaded. With the HOS(hours of service) now being electronically tracked we have to work together to maximize available capacity.

    Some KPI that will be insightful:

      • What the average wait time is for a carrier to get a dock dock after check-in?
      • Once carrier checks in and backs into a door, what is the average loading time?
      • How long does it take the carrier to exit your facility?
      • How much are you paying in accessorials (wait time, Truck Order Not used, etc.)?

    Analyzing this data over time will create insights into your business and identify opportunities for improvement. Once changes are made, it is important to track your success and make minor adjustments as needed.

    Environment

    Carriers have a tough job and appreciate when shippers and receivers provide a carrier lounge or area for carriers to relax and provide carrier parking as well. Making a little effort can go a long way to build alliances with the carrier community – it can be something as simple as putting chairs and a bowl of candy in your warehouse. Let them know you appreciate them and their work.

    Evaluate How you Run Your Business

    With vacancy rates at warehouses continuing to remain low, many facilities are pushing out high volumes of loads with constrained warehouse space, constrained yard space, and limited numbers of dock doors for the throughput that is needed at facilities to meet demand. Below are a few factors shippers should evaluate in order to streamline their supply chain:

      • Business Processes – Do you have SOPs (Standards of Practice) for all aspects of your business, including:
        • Yard Management
        • Warehouse Management
        • Production Management
        • Load Management
      • Training, Mentoring, and Evaluation
        • Do you have a formal training process for new employees?
        • Do you have a mentor program for employees? Should you have a mentor program?
        • Do you have an evaluation program to collaborate with employees and provide feedback?
      • Live Load vs. Drop Pools
        • With the HOS requirements electronically logged it is now more important than ever that carriers spend as much driving and on the road rather than waiting. When Trailer Pools are available preloaded trailers are a great option as they virtually eliminate carrier dwell time as long as you have an organized yard and a solid SOP in place to preload trailers prior to carrier arrival. When ON TIME DELIVERY is important trailer pools help you achieve your goals by enabling carriers to spend their time on the road rather than missing delivery appointments.
          • Have you considered the impact on your business of drop trailer pools?
            • How can a trailer pool drive efficiency?
            • How can a trailer pool help with throughput?
      • Innovation
        • Does your carrier understand your business and offer the following:
          • Innovative ways to help you meet capacity during slack and surge periods?
          • Does your carrier collaborate to identify opportunities for improvement if challenges occur?
          • Does your carrier understand your business goals and objectives and work with you to help you achieve goals?
          • Does your carrier work the same hours as you?

    If we collaborate with all stakeholders in this equation – carriers, shippers, and consignees – we can create a “best case scenario” for all parties involved. This scenario enables us all to be successful and take on the challenges ahead in a more strategic manner and use the limited resources we have to improve the industry’s conditions for all stakeholders.

    Interested in even more insight on improving your FTL practices? You can email Bryan at bryan@nexttrucking.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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  • Feeling the Capacity Squeeze? It’s Time to Get Agile!

    Feeling the Capacity Squeeze? It’s Time to Get Agile!

    By empowering people and sparking their entrepreneurial spirit, companies are using organizational agility to create improved results and inspire creative thought amongst their employees.

    For many legacy corporations, the main obstacle to respond quickly to new market trends and disruptive new market entrants are: extensive hierarchic decision-making processes, competing internal initiatives, and silo-based thinking. When the market shifts suddenly, less progressive companies are often left in the dust because there are too many steps and decision-makers involved.

    Mike Richardson, author of “Cracking the Agility Code,” told me the industry is entering “a new era of better, faster, cheaper that is requiring enterprises of all shapes and sizes to pivot to agile.” Mike then explained that agility is “the ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and stay ahead of our competition in meeting customer expectations.”

    This is relevant now more than ever to shippers as it applies to the current driver and capacity shortage in the full truckload market. Shippers are now expected to meet increasingly narrow delivery windows or pay costly “compliance fees” or penalties, which eat heavily into profits. With drivers being picky about where they want to take loads from, many shippers are balancing price and capacity while they compete to get their goods to market.  

    According to the Journal Of Commerce, the US economy has grown at a rate of 2.6 to 3.2 percent growth over the last three quarters, adding yet another layer of complexity to the transportation capacity issue. Shippers of all types need to rethink their Supply Chain Strategy and specifically their distribution schedules, while increasing efficiency and look at making their shipping and receiving processes more efficient.

    “It’s an industry-wide challenge, including with supply chains and shippers,” Mike said, “Enterprise agility is the only competitive advantage which has any permanence these days.”

    But where does a shipper start with getting that kind of visibility into their supply chain? Without a consolidated log of all their calls and shipment statuses, it becomes difficult to find the blind spots where your supply chain might be weakest.

    The first step would be to find a software solution to post and track shipments. Freight tracking software, like the NEXT for Shippers portal, help shippers see exactly where their loads are by the minute through live GPS tracking. Using this technology, shippers can even more efficiently direct truckers at their warehouses, saving time loading and unloading.

    Plus, with a full shipment timeline for each load and comprehensive metrics measured in the platform, it’s easy to go back and see any weak spots in the supply chain. From there, shipping companies can then implement organizational agility practices and adjust their workflows to start moving loads even more efficiently by putting people and inventory in the right place at the right time. If you are tracking a load and see that it is coming to your warehouse in 15 minutes, move to make sure that you have a dock available for that truck to park in and workers available to move the freight where it needs to go.

    Once you figure out how and when loads are moving in and out of the warehouse, your supply chain will be agile enough to easily recalibrate for whatever shifts the market throws at you.

    Mike Richardson is the author of “Cracking the Agility Code.” You can learn more about his work at agilitycode.com.

    Have more questions about agile supply chains? Reach out to Gina on LinkedIn or email her at gina@nexttrucking.com.

  • Making the Most of the Driver Shortage // Press Round-Up Week of 3/26-30

    Making the Most of the Driver Shortage // Press Round-Up Week of 3/26-30

    As the driver shortage continues to squeeze shippers, many are speculating that the upcoming ELD enforcement implementation will exacerbate the issues further. So what can shippers do to reduce the impact the shortage will have on them? With all the press around the driver shortage, there is, surprisingly, no shortage of information and analyses of best practices for shippers in the tight capacity market. Below are a few articles to get you started.

    FTR: No relief in sight for capacity crunch

    The rest of the year for shippers seems bleak according to FTR Transportation Intelligence. FleetOwner analyzes the study released by the research firm this week that found shippers’ conditions have worsened considerably since 2017, and with rising freight demand, freight rates, and fuel prices. Not all is lost, however – the FTR sees intermodal and rail carload solutions as a quick way to alleviate some capacity pressure.

    Supply Chain Finance: Capitalizing on Growth Trends

    With costs at an all-time high and the yearlong projections looking bleak, shipping companies should be shifting their revenue models to allow them to better adapt to any market changes. This article from Inbound Logistics highlights implementing a supply chain finance model to tap the supply chain for untapped revenue while avoiding the pitfalls of traditional financing models.

    Are Truck Drivers Finally Getting the Attention They Deserve?

    Part of the downturn shippers are experiencing is due to the higher wages and benefits drivers are now receiving to reduce turnover. HDT Truckinginfo breaks down how the trend has impacted industry capacity and how market trends will develop in the coming years.

    Five Ways the Electronic Logging Device Is Changing Trucking

    Enforcement for the ELD mandate is officially starting this Sunday, but there’s already been a lot of talk about how it could affect the industry. Trucks.com sat down with DAT Solutions to look at how electronic logging devices have affected trucking in the months since December, including trucker employment rates, overall productivity, and insurance rates.

    Lower container dwell time points to efficiency at Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach

    With the tight capacity market squeezing logistics companies everywhere, many are changing up their processes to make moving cargo more efficient. Logistics Management reports that despite the deluge of shipments that the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles experienced during the Lunar New Year last month, the average time cargo stays on the docks is going down.

  • Fresh Perspectives on Standard News // Press Round-Up Week of 3/19-23

    Fresh Perspectives on Standard News // Press Round-Up Week of 3/19-23

    The trucking industry is often criticized for sticking to traditional ways of thinking, even by those in the trucking media. We often see the same topics in industry publications rehashed over and over again to the point of cliche. While the issues facing the industry are complex, article perspectives usually take the same POVs industry-wide. This week, however, there were a lot of fresh takes on some of the most talked about topics in 2018.

    Special report: Day of reckoning in driver shortage saga

    If you’ve been struggling to find new talking points about the driver shortage, Consumer Carrier Journal has got you covered. The publication published the first piece in a 3-month series on the shortage’s potential impact on the growing economy, so you can continue to mine the issue for talking points well into the summer with hard facts and numbers.

    Bill Would Create Pathway for Under-21 Truck Drivers

    Not all is bleak on the horizon in the trucker shortage, though. Trucking Info reports on a bill that is making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives that aims to alleviate the trucker shortage by letting 18 year olds earn limited commercial driver’s licenses to transport cargo within state lines. Though not a complete solution, the bill looks like a promising start towards fixing the driver shortage while alleviating the trucking industry’s age problem.

    Technology and maximizing your most precious resource

    The trucking and logistics industries are currently going through a period of difficult change, making it hard to see the potential impact while dealing with growing pains. Luckily, Overdrive has an insightful column about the positive impact these changes from – get this – a trucker. The writer thoughtfully takes on autonomous trucks and ELDs are not only here to stay – they’re just what the industry needs.

    Creating The Internet of Everything

    As data from the supply chain moves out of the warehouse and into the cloud, the possibilities for innovation become endless. Inbound Logistics takes a look at different companies and the solutions they are providing over the entire supply chain, from the manufacturing belt to dock doors.

    Leveraging Traffic Data for Smart Transportation

    With all the existing data available, seeing the possibilities for the future of transportation become alarmingly clear. Logistics Viewpoints breaks down the way that cities can leverage traffic data to make their cities easier to navigate, less congested, and economic. While most of the article is relevant to city planners, the smart logistics professional will certainly be able to identify ways they can use data to clean up their supply chain from this piece as well.

  • Logistic Optimization in the Digital Age // Press Round-Up Week of 2/26-3/2

    Logistic Optimization in the Digital Age // Press Round-Up Week of 2/26-3/2

    Many shipping companies today use technology, but most are not getting the most potential out of their electronic devices. New innovations have integrated themselves into the supply chain more than ever before, but it still feels like the industry is just scratching the surface as to what’s possible with digital logistics. So how exactly is tech changing the trucking industry? Here are 5 pieces that look at the possibilities of the internet supply chain.

    Food & Beverage Ecommerce: How Online Shopping Impacts The Supply Chain
    With 16% of adults taking part in the fresh produce ecommerce chain, the online food and beverage supply chain is becoming even more crucial to food retailers’ day to day businesses. This piece at Supply Chain Management Review goes in depth on the best practices for managing a digital produce marketplace and the various considerations to take into account when starting one.

    Why Trucking and Logistics Will Lead the Autonomous Vehicle Revolution
    While autonomous vehicles have been in development for a much longer time in non-commercial vehicles, this piece at Trucks.com goes in-depth as to why trucking is at the forefront of the innovation. The article goes into all the different ways that trucks are experimenting with innovation, and is great further reading for our autonomous trucks post from last week.

    Are Your Trucks Ready for Last-Mile Logistics?
    One of the rising trends to come out of the ecommerce is popularity of last-mile shipping, so preparing your fleet to properly execute this type of delivery can be crucial. Trucking Info takes an in-depth look at what kind of trucking technology and logistic precautions fleets need to start going the final mile.

    Store Fulfillment for E-Commerce Success
    While it is commonly thought that the rise of online stores means the fall of brick and mortar shops, that might not be the case. Logistics Viewpoints examines how physical stores are being repositioned within the new digital supply chain, and the different ways that customers today are feeling about walking into a store in the digital age.

    Tech, not consolidation, will drive container shipping change
    With seven container carrier companies closing over the past two years, now might be the perfect time for overseas shipping to experience a radical technology change. The Journal of Commerce argues that getting these companies to use one neutral blockchain platform now is easier than ever, and could give the industry the shake-up it needs.

  • Our Account Management and Sales Teams are Growing!

    Our Account Management and Sales Teams are Growing!

    In February our account management and sales teams added 3 new members! We are proud to welcome Cecilia and CJ (not pictured) to the Account Management team, and Dede to the Sales team!

    Cecilia Romero is joining the NEXT Trucking as an Account Manager. When she is not helping accounts, she enjoys spending time with her dogs or being at Disneyland with her family.

    Christopher “CJ” Yu is another one of our new additions. Besides being a great Account Manager, he is also a fan of musical artist Drake and basketball player LeBron James.

    Our newest Enterprise Sales Representative, Dede Aguayo, loves sports. She played NCAA Division 1 softball for San Diego State University and currently coaches youth softball and soccer teams.

    We are so excited to have these new logistics superstars on our team to serve our rapidly growing account base!

  • Utilizing Technology to Become a Preferred Shipper

    Utilizing Technology to Become a Preferred Shipper

    If you have ever had to spend what seemed like hours looking for a parking spot, you know that it can turn into what feels like the longest time of your life. Now imagine trying to find that same parking spot after working 10 hours straight. You can not even stop and get out until you find a place to park. Sound bad? Oh yes, I forgot to mention that you are driving a 60 foot long vehicle. That lot you see up ahead has “no vehicle over 30’ allowed” sign. You are tired, hungry, and you miss your family. But even after 30 minutes of looking for a place, there are none to be found. Finally, 45 minutes and 10 miles away from your destination, you find a place.

    This is what many truck drivers experience every day they are out on the road. Parking can be a tough thing when you are driving a big rig. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, about 63% of drivers are taking 15 minutes or more each day to look for parking in the time window of 4:00 pm to 11:59 pm. That means that over the course of a year, each driver spends approximately 65 hours looking for a place to park. Yes, 65 HOURS. Essentially 1.5 work weeks each year just looking for a place to park. Often times, when the driver does find a place to park, the times he is allowed to park there are restricted, further complicating his rest schedule.

    What can you as a shipper do to help alleviate this?

    1. Allow drivers to park on your premises while waiting for a pick up or delivery appointment. Yes, space may be limited, but even if you make room for 1 or 2 trucks, you will be helping a driver stay rested and focused. Additionally, you will improve the relationship with your drivers, exponentially improving your retention rate. This is critical in the current tight capacity market!
    2. Load and unload trucks in a timely manner. A Department of Transportation general audit found that detention time is costing drivers $1 billion dollars per year and that a 15 minute wait time can increase the accident rate by up to 7%. If your dock is empty, put a truck in it! Drivers do not like to wait to be loaded or unloaded. Plus, the faster you can get trucks in and out of a dock, the more shipments you’ll be able to take in and put out.
    3. Become a preferred shipper for carriers. With freight demands up and the new ELD requirements in place, drivers will have to become much more pickier in choosing where to pick up. If you are a shipper with higher wait times, drivers are more likely to choose other shippers, further delaying your shipments.

    What can you as a driver do?

    1. Be respectful. In the same way drivers talk, shipping managers talk to their dock workers. If you as a driver are rude and disrespectful, that is a reflection on you and the entire driver population.
    2. Be on time and communicate. Many of the docks you are going into are busy. Yes, there can be delays in transportation and we are all aware of that, but communicate. There is nothing more frustrating than hearing a driver say “I’m 15 minutes away”, only to still be waiting 2 hours later!!

    How can NEXT Trucking be used to your advantage?

    1. Shippers: With our online tracking, you can see exactly where the driver is. Check the traffic around them and if you see they are still 30 minutes out, pull an available truck into the dock and get it loaded! Additionally, by having all your forms generated and kept on the NEXT for Shippers platform, you can save valuable time finding and distributing documents. Streamline your loading dock and become the shipper of choice.
    2. Drivers: Get on the NEXT Trucking app. It is free to download and easy to use. Find your next load fast and easy. Gone are the days of spending 20 minutes on hold with a broker only to find out that the load you are calling about was booked 15 minutes ago. If you see a load you want and the price is right, just smash that “book load” button, and it is yours!

    These may seem like little things, but to both transportation managers and drivers, these little things can add up to big improvements to your business’ supply chains.

    If you would like a demo of how the software can become valuable to you and your team or your fleet, you can reach Tim on LinkedIn or email him at tim@nexttrucking.com.

  • Tech Talk: How Tesla’s autonomous truck Supercharged the Trucking Industry

    Tech Talk: How Tesla’s autonomous truck Supercharged the Trucking Industry

    Tech Talk is a series where we examine the latest trends in trucking technology and their potential impacts on the industry at large. In our first set of posts, we look a recent innovation to the industry’s keystone: the truck.

    Since Tesla unveiled their autonomous trucks in November 2017, it seems like there is a new story about autonomous trucks every week. For the first time ever, trucks showed up on the floor at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2018, with Peterbilt and TuSimple showcasing their autonomous trucks. Multiple companies like Undelv and Pizza Hut have also taken their autonomous trucks to the streets in public delivery tests.

    The Department of Transportation has also begun getting public input from manufacturers, the public, and truck drivers to determine if they should hasten the deployment of autonomous trucks. While the manufacturers of the trucks are moving ahead into production, the vehicle has caused much discussion of its implications within the trucking industry.

    Many within the trucking industry are not happy with the development of the autonomous trucks. A vocal critic of trucking automation so far has been the Brotherhood of Teamsters. Union head James P. Hoffa has said in an interview with Reuters that he worries that the change is coming too fast and more research should be done on the impact of the people involved, particularly in terms of job security and safety.The Center for Global Policy Solutions has also published a report stating that autonomous trucking could hurt the economy of states that have a high volume of truckers such as West Virginia and Mississippi.

    Autonomous truck manufacturers, on the other hand, purport autonomous trucks as a net positive for the industry. Besides integration possible with current freight-tracking systems, the companies claim that autonomous trucks also provide numerous benefits to shippers. The trucks can automatically calculate the most efficient lanes and routes, saving time on delivery. Additionally, the automated trucks can give truckers some respite on the freeway, where long haul truckers spend most of their days. This would lead to improved trucker health and wellbeing, thus helping to alleviate some driver turnover.

    Tech companies rolling out autonomous trucks also argue that trucker job loss will be minimal. Autonomous trucks will still need drivers to navigate busy city streets and load at docks, and though the trucks can cruise down highways, drivers must be able to take over the rig at a moment’s notice. Even under a platooning, a possible model for autonomous truck fleets where one lead truck sends information to the other trucks that allows them to drive autonomously, there would need to be multiple drivers so the driver in the lead truck can be switched out regularly.

    While these advancements hold lots of different possibilities for shippers and the industry, there is still much work to be done to put the infrastructure in place to get autonomous trucks running. Though Tesla has projected a 2019 release of its electrical truck, it has yet to announce a release date for the truck-specific charging stations that it would have to roll out across the nation. In an industry choking under an already large volume of freight demand that the ATA predicts will increase by 37%, autonomous trucks are being hailed by many tech companies as the solution to the driver shortage.

    Whether or not the systems needed to keep the trucks functioning will be ready in time is yet to be known, and more solid research on automation’s impact on trucking has yet to be published. Nonetheless, we’ll have to sit on cruise control and patiently wait to see what the future holds.


    Next time: We take a closer look at the electricity types powering the new generation of trucks.