In the United States, there are over 500,000 trucking companies putting 15.5 million trucks on the road. As a result, yearly regulations, technology and pay rates have to adapt to fill the demand of truck drivers.
In 2019, transportation trends are evolving to fit the high demand of freight being delivered and low supply of drivers. According to the American Trucking Associations, there are only 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States. The truck driving industry is facing a serious shortage!
Trucking industry outlook 2019
Digitalization
Digitalization is changing the online face of the transportation world. Transportation companies are simplifying, redesigning their services and reducing gaps in talent. Digitalization is allowing consumers to interact with companies through online and mobile processes offering timely contact with their freight provider.
Capacity crunch
Because online purchasing has increased in popularity, the need for freight services has drastically increased. Meanwhile, truck drivers are in short supply. Other factors leading to the shortage of drivers include: hours of service, driving OTR, balancing highway and home and average driver pay.
Rising rates
As a result of the high demand for freight haulers, wage rates are looking to also increase. There are two kinds of rates in transportation:
Spot market rates are quotes given the day freight is ready to move.
Contract rates are a locked agreement between a carrier and a shipper. Contract rates are also set for a certain time period.
Technology improvements
The improvement of technology in trucking has created a great resource for company’s customers to track shipments with the help of mobile apps. As a result, shipments will be able to optimize routing, pickup and delivery time.
One major transportation prediction for 2019 is the appearance of self-driving semi-trucks gaining traction in the United States trucking industry.
Other technology making changes in 2019 is that of software-driven processes. These software-driven processes include intelligent transportation systems, robotic process automation, predictive solutions and AI solutions.
Machine-driven process changes
In the near future, there will be less interaction between drivers, consumers and employees due to machine-driven processes. However, through these new processes, transportation companies will be able to provide more flexible services and greater availability.
Some other new trends are:
Electro-mobility is technology designed to encourage less fossil fuels and carbon gas emissions for commercial vehicles.
In order to optimize your last mile, trucking companies must follow a strict schedule. This means putting a plan in place, keeping track of vehicles and drivers, planning around the needs of the consumer and measuring your success This is important because it allows companies the tools to make themselves more efficient.
As a whole, the transportation industry is moving quickly to increase efficiency and improve quality of life for drivers.
At TransWood this has never been more true because we value the hard work our employees spend on the road. Therefore, we look forward to using these new trucking trends to improve our employees quality of life and efficiency on the road in 2019.
TransWood is committed to protecting the health, safety and security of our employees and independent contractors. Visit our TransWood website and let us help you fill your hauling freight needs.
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