The mobile device revolution has dramatically altered telematics and mobile communications in the trucking industry as technology suppliers have introduced an ever-expanding array of business applications for smartphones and tablets.

The telematics-for-trucking market experienced a dramatic explosion in growth over the past three years, driven primarily by the federally mandated rollout of electronic logging devices across most of the longhaul trucking sector. Now that the industry has made that transition to electronic logs, the telematics market is bound to undergo a shakeout because there are more ELD suppliers than the industry needs.

Carriers aiming to answer this question — how much did that truck truly cost? — must weigh a range of factors to arrive at a “total cost of ownership.” The factors considered might differ from one operator to the next, but the basic considerations tend to be the same, fleet managers and truck manufacturers said.

Wireless service is changing, and so the trucking technologies that rely on it must change, too, vendors of communications and tracking systems said.

The cloud computing services offered by businesses such as Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft Azure have made integration easier to accomplish. But there's a catch: The task of integrating systems “is never-ending,” technology executives say.

The government-mandated use of electronic logging devices hasn’t just replaced paper logbooks; it also has marked a major step forward for technology adoption and the use of data in trucking.

The term “predictive analytics” is becoming increasingly familiar within the trucking industry as fleets look to make better use of the data collected by their back-office and onboard systems.

As commercial trucks become increasingly connected to the internet, concerns about vehicle cybersecurity are growing, particularly with the trucking industry continuing its push toward more advanced automated driving systems.