Load board operator Truckstop.com is planning to introduce its own electronic logging device, expanding the company’s technology offerings, a company executive said.
The ELD product, which the company hopes to launch by August, will be aimed at the small fleet and owner-operator market, Thayne Boren, general manager of Truckstop.com mobile solutions, told Transport Topics.
The ELD will integrate with the Truckstop.com load board, he said.
“We envision this as an opportunity to be an entire freight-execution ecosystem where users can find their freight, get paid on their freight and stay compliant while moving their freight,” Boren said.
Truckstop.com is targeting the ELD market at a time when the trucking industry is preparing for a federal mandate of the technology.
By December 2017, most carriers whose drivers are currently required to keep paper logs will need to install ELDs in their trucks under a final rule issued late last year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Boren said Truckstop.com plans to enter the ELD space with a “bring your own device” strategy using Android or iOS tablets and smartphones as the in-cab display. The company also is considering an installed mobile data terminal in the cab as another display option, he added.
The ELD be geared toward spot-market, for-hire carriers, especially those operating 50 or fewer trucks.
“We’ll continue to serve the same market that we serve with our Truckstop.com audience,” Boren said.
The ELD functionality will be available within the company’s ITS Trucker mobile application, which currently has more than 50,000 active users, he said.
Truckstop.com also is looking at adding other features through its ELD, including IFTA fuel-tax reporting and vehicle maintenance and scheduling.
