{"id":3257,"date":"2019-08-15T16:33:46","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T14:33:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3257"},"modified":"2019-08-15T16:33:46","modified_gmt":"2019-08-15T14:33:46","slug":"autonomous-trucks-could-radically-transform-u-s-logistics-within-a-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/08\/15\/autonomous-trucks-could-radically-transform-u-s-logistics-within-a-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"Autonomous Trucks Could Radically Transform U.S. Logistics Within a Decade"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Autonomous Trucks Could Radically Transform U.S. Logistics Within a Decade<\/h2>\n

A new report predicts fully autonomous trucks being used in regular operations in little more than a decade. (Above) Test trucks run in a truck platoon on a closed course for evaluation purposes earlier this year. Photo: PIT Group<\/p>\n

Eight years. That\u2019s how long McKinsey & Company, a global logistics think tank based in the United States and Europe, predicts it will be before autonomous trucks with no humans on board could be routinely running routes in North America.<\/p>\n

That stunning revelation is the opening salvo <\/a>in the first of a\u00a0five-part report on near-term technological disruption in global logistics. The initial report focuses on the advent of autonomous trucks and the remaining parts will look at the effect emerging technologies such as analytics, e-Commerce, automation in the workplace (not including autonomous vehicles), asset sharing and data and analytics.<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s look at autonomous truck trend lines\u00a0opens by noting that trucking\u00a0moves about two-thirds of all goods shipped in the U.S. and that truck driving is currently the most common occupation in more than half of all U.S. states. Furthermore, the report warns, trucking remains a \u201cdeeply traditional\u201d industry that has experienced \u201cfew major or structural changes in the preceding decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Autonomous trucks are about to change all of that forever, the report says, noting that companies have already used fully autonomous trucks to make beer deliveries and business agreements between fleets to jointly operate and profit from autonomous truck operations have already been inked and signed. Basic autonomous operating systems today range in price from $30,000 to $100,000, the report\u2019s authors note.<\/p>\n

Initial autonomous truck operations are already in their embryonic stages\u00a0and the report predicts that the overall adoption curve will take place in four major stages, beginning in 2018 and extending out to 2027 and beyond.<\/p>\n

In the first wave,\u00a0two-truck platoons with drivers operating each vehicle with Level 3 automation\u00a0will take to the roads between now and 2020, taking advantage of aerodynamics and subsequent fuel savings. Connected convoys will develop and operational algorithms and vehicle communications networks will mature and expand, leading to the second wave of autonomous truck development in or around 2023.<\/p>\n

In the second\u00a0phase, the authors predict, driverless platooning on interstate highways will become operational, with a driver in the lead truck of the platoon and unmanned trucks following close behind. When the platoon leaves the highway, the authors say, drivers will once again resume control of each individual truck. According to the report, autonomous operations at this stage of the development curve could deliver\u00a0fuel and labor savings that will cut total operating costs for each truck in a fleet by approximately 10%.<\/p>\n

The report projects that by\u00a02026\u00a0unmanned autonomous trucks operating on all segments of the Interstate highway system and on geofenced areas (subject to weather and visibility conditions) will be normal.\u00a0In this phase of autonomous technology development\u00a0drivers will meet trucks at the interstate exits and other areas to drive them in more dynamic traffic conditions to their ultimate destinations. This \u201cconstrained autonomy\u201d technology, as the report\u2019s authors call it, is projected to produce total savings of about 20%.<\/p>\n

And finally, more than a decade from now, McKinsey and Company expects to see the industry\u2019s first Level 5, fully autonomous trucks hit the road, working across their entire operational scale without any human interaction at all. Once this stage of autonomous vehicle technology is attained, the report says fleets will see a stunning 45% reduction in total operating costs for an individual truck compared to today \u2013 although the report\u2019s authors point out that even by this stage, it will still be many years before autonomous fleets completely replace fleets operating with human drivers.<\/p>\n

The disruption autonomous trucks have on the industry will spread out like ripples across a pond, the report notes, with drivers and other parties experiencing\u00a0professional upheaval. Other industry segments that could see significant disruption\u00a0include railroads, warehouses, as well as distribution and fulfillment centers (which will likely bear the brunt of the first wave of disruption caused by this technology), brokers, port operators and shippers.<\/p>\n

The trucking industry is expected to experience most of the pain caused by the disruptive nature of autonomous trucks, the report concludes, in four main ways. First, autonomous trucks will cut operating costs for fleets, although capital expenditures will rise. Second, the rise of autonomous trucks could spur consolidation of the national fleets, which are highly fragmented today. Third, autonomous trucks could alleviate the industry\u2019s capacity crunch. And finally, autonomous trucks could create an opportunity for truck OEMs to move downstream and enter\u00a0transport markets themselves.<\/p>\n

by Jack Roberts<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.fleetforward.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n