More Collaboration on Display Among Exhibit Hall Vendors

This story appears in the Oct. 28 print edition of Transport Topics.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Further collaboration among trucking industry suppliers and technology vendors took center stage in the exhibit hall at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition here.

Equipment manufacturers, telematics providers and software companies and others showed some of the latest ways they’re working together to provide additional safety and efficiency gains.

“There’s a lot more access to real-time data that’s being better integrated than it was previously,” said Steve Gordon, chief operating officer at Gordon Trucking Inc. in Pacific, Wash.

ATA President Bill Graves joined with former ATA Chairman Michael Card and new Chairman Philip Byrd Sr. for the ceremonial ribbon-cutting on Oct. 20.

“This ribbon-cutting symbolizes an exciting opportunity to see the future of trucking in the many products and services that are going to be displayed here today,” Card said before ushering attendees into the show space.

One prominent example of greater collaboration was Navistar Inc.’s unveiling of an open remote diagnostics program that can use information collected by a variety of third-party telematics providers.

The exhibit hall floor also featured a variety of companies involved in the movement toward natural gas as a trucking fuel .

Billy Hupp, chief operating officer of Estes Express Lines, said the industry is clearly moving toward greater integration.

“Anything we can do to have real-time information not only makes us a better trucking company from a safety point of view, but also from a driver satisfaction point of view and for our customers,” he said.

Robert Kortenhaus, president of Bilkays Express Co., said he has been attending MC&E for about 30 years and has seen a shift in the exhibits from a focus on maintenance-related vendors to technology vendors.

David McCorkle, former ATA chairman and chairman of the board of McCorkle Truck Line Inc. in Oklahoma City, said he’s also seen the change in the exhibit hall.

“Technology is taking over,” he said. “Where it used to be all mechanical and tires and trucks, now it’s information.”

Among the latest products and services on display were these:

• Omnitracs Inc. said it will offer new applications on tire pressure monitoring and automatic trailer tire inflation. The mobile communications provider is partnering with tire- pressure monitoring providers Advantage PressurePro and Doran Manufacturing and automatic tire- inflation providers such as Meritor Tire Inflation System, said Norm Ellis, Omnitracs’ vice president of sales and marketing.

Both applications will be available in November for fleets using Omnitracs’ MCP110 or MCP200 platforms.

Omnitracs also announced updates within its critical-event reporting application — an over-speed events add-on that allows fleets to include speed thresholds in their reporting, as well as a new partnership with Meritor Wabco for forward-collision warnings. The company also offers collision-avoidance integrations with Mobileye and Bendix Wingman.

Omnitracs said it has enhanced its longtime integration with TMW Systems Inc. to offer faster data delivery and more automation.

• SmartDrive Systems Inc. said it has expanded the capabilities of its in-cab video recording platform by adding integrations with active safety systems, including anti-rollover,

forward-collision and lane-departure technology.

Through these integrations, fleets can identify risky events and then review onboard video and vehicle data so they can coach their drivers.

SmartDrive said it is offering integrations with safety systems from Meritor Wabco, Bendix and Mobileye.

• Mobileye unveiled a new add-on for its collision-avoidance system that expands the product’s safety features.

Fleets can use the new “enhancement box,” a companion product to the Mobileye 5 Series, to have their trucks automatically turn on hazard lights when the collision avoidance system generates safety warnings.

Fleets also can configure the device to mute the radio or activate a seat vibrator to ensure that drivers are aware of the alerts, or to deactivate cruise control.

By automatically activating hazard lights during alerts, the enhancement box allows the collision-avoidance system to warn not only the truck driver, but also motorists following behind the truck, Mobileye said.

• Onboard computing provider PeopleNet Communications Corp. introduced its Mobile PeopleNet Fleet Manager, a site fleet managers can use to access vehicle and driver data through an Apple iPad. Mobile PFM provides embedded maps, vehicle and driver lists and messaging to a vehicle or driver.

PeopleNet, part of Trimble Navigation Ltd., also announced that USA Truck will be installing PeopleNet’s telematics platform throughout its fleet of more than 2,200 tractors.

• 10-4 Systems Inc. demonstrated its new automated freight-matching service, which is designed to connect carriers, brokers and shippers in real time by integrating with their transportation management software.

• Fleet technology vendor Telogis Inc. announced an expansion of its in-cab navigation software.

Telogis Navigation 5 will add new driver alerts that provide road information updates including weather, traffic, sharp turns and speed thresholds.

The new version will also include more detailed views of complex highway exits and interchanges.

• Idle Smart announced enhancements to its idling-reduction product, which starts and stops truck engines automatically to maintain desired cabin temperature and reduce fuel consumption.

Idle Smart also said its fuel optimization software uses a new algorithm that determines when to automatically turn off the Idle Smart unit if the system is left on when the driver is not in the vehicle.

• Trailer tracking provider SkyBitz announced it has added a new trends-based reporting feature to its InSight Web application. InSight Trends is a visual dashboard designed to turn historical data into actionable information by analyzing long-term trends.

SkyBitz also introduced the Falcon GXT3000, a new cellular-tracking device designed to deliver real-time data. It operates on a 3G/4G network, which is ideal for operations that require frequent status reports on assets such as dry van trailers, the company said.

• Orbcomm Inc. announced the launch of a solar-powered trailer-tracking system. Its new GT 1100 system allows for 40 or more messages a day and can get power by diffuse sunlight.

The product, about a foot long and an inch high, can be placed on trailers or containers or any type of unpowered asset, Orbcomm said.

• Another trailer tracking company, TrackPoint Systems, announced that it has begun using Verizon’s wireless network to provide its monitoring service for untethered trailers.

TrackPoint’s solar-powered tracking system provides GPS location and can also offer door sensors, cargo sensors, temperature and fuel sensors for refrigerated trailers, and sensors that track changes in liquid tank levels.

• Master Fleet announced a new service that provides full-to-partial outsourcing of fleet maintenance. The “Commercial Fleet Management” offering allows fleets to customize what services they want, including shop management, maintenance reporting, payment of vendor invoices and training. 

Company officials said they can handle every make and model of every tractor and trailer, including those with compressed natural gas engines.

• AudaExplore officially unveiled its Web-based SuperVision product, which allows fleets to monitor drivers’ violations, unpaid parking tickets and other data.

• A year-old company showcased a product it said could save trucking companies a nickel a mile in fuel costs. LinkeDrive’s PedalCoach system gives drivers a display, similar to a tachometer, on a mobile phone,  which can be mounted in the cab,  that shows green, yellow and red zones, with green the most fuel-efficient.

The system gives drivers a “point” for every mile driven in the green, which can be used in pay-for-

performance plans, said Linke-Drive CEO Jeff Baer. “The driver is the key element in fuel economy,” he said.

• Vnomics Corp. launched a product that includes an onboard system to identify a truck’s miles-per-gallon potential, ensure that vehicles are geared correctly and monitors interactions between the truck and driver. The “Core” system can boost fuel economy 20% while boosting safety and reducing maintenance costs, the company said.

• HexFuel displayed its BoostBox system that adds a hydrogen-oxygen mix into diesel fuel systems that it said boosts fuel economy by 10% and reduces emissions.

• U.S. Bank showed its new “Over The Road” fuel cards for heavy-duty fleets. It offers two options — a program for fuel payments only and one that also enables other expenditures.

• Advantage PressurePro, a tire- pressure monitoring provider, said its system has broadened to provide overall tire management. That includes tire temperature monitoring, data logging and reporting to the back office.

• Jump Technologies announced a new feature for its JumpTrack proof-of-delivery mobile application, available on Apple and Android smart phones and tablets. The app now allows fleet managers to evaluate drivers’ performance for each leg of a route and compare those results with the planned route. The app tracks metrics such as time in transit, arrival time, stop time and distance traveled.