Tech Savvy Truckers Finally Embrace The Digital Age

February 14, 2020

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Trucking seemed to be one industry that had been largely unaffected, not to mention unconcerned with matters of a digital nature.

Many years ago, it would have been assumed that anyone who led a trucker’s lifestyle would be highly unlikely to embrace the digital age, with many eschewing even having a smartphone with them on the road. Now the opposite seems to be true, and it’s estimated that ninety percent of truckers now carry a smartphone with them in their cabins as they drive from place to place.

However, they’re not just for the usual texting, WhatsApp and social media check ins. Dedicated smartphone apps for the trucking industry are driving up efficiency, making companies more profitable and gaining new insight and business for the trucking sector as a whole. It seems that the digital era has finally been accepted by an industry that, for a long time, was seen as stuck in the past.

Growth of Digital Trends in Trucking

In 2018, it was estimated that the global transport management industry was valued at well over $61 billion. Over the next five years it’s believed growth will continue at around sixteen percent in the period up to 2025. This is one of the reasons why some of the biggest tech companies are investing and getting involved in building trucking related apps and technologies.

Apps that are currently available offer trucking business owners everything they could possibly want for the smooth running of their operations from trip planning to invoicing and dispatching. Savvy truckers can also use the apps to find good places to park, low priced fuel, freight, whether lowbed or other types of trailers are allowed on certain roads and weigh stations.

There are now apps that can help connect drivers through the use of interactive maps that offer advice on where to park and fill up their vehicles and others offer drivers GPS that operates offline and warns about restrictions for commercial vehicles, too.

Freight and Fleet Apps For Managers

Field managers and site supervisors also need smart digital ways to monitor their fleet’s location and what they’re doing at any one time. There are apps such as GTC Field View which can allow all of the above at the handy touch of a button. Some apps also allow real-time access of trucks and the ability to track shipments through GPS and instant rate confirmation too. Handy to achieve instant updates of a fleet and to also keep customers and consumers informed as to the whereabouts of any goods they have purchased.

Truckers and their industry are now no longer seen as being uninterested in modern technological developments. Far from it, some of them are embracing new technology head on in an effort to not only become more digitally savvy, but to improve the experiences of their drivers and provide a much better all encompassing consumer experience from start to finish. The digital marketplace is finally trucking, the question is, where will it drive to next?