What about Trucks? An Overlooked Industry

With the discovery and wonder of flight, the sheer size of some cargo/cruise ships that leave a person in awe, and the rapid technological evolution of personal vehicles, the development of the trucking industry has been somewhat overlooked. Other than enjoying the sound of their honks, or being frustrated when stuck behind one on the highway, most people do not pay much attention to the changes occurring. While the other modes of transportation (both freight and passenger) have improved immensely, trucks have remained relatively similar in terms of energy efficiency and appearance in the past 40 years, but have recently begun to show signs of life.

The importance of the trucking industry is not to be underestimated. Trucks are so vital to our economy and survival in fact that a mere week without their existence would cause our postal services, supermarkets, pharmacies and garbage collection services to collapse, leaving us in a state of chaos.

To put this in perspective, trucks are responsible for roughly 75% of the freight delivered within the EU, and 90% of the freight value (ACEA, 2015). Across the Atlantic in the United States, trucks consume approximately 12% of the fuel, despite the nation having almost one personal vehicle per citizen. On top of this, both the sales and production numbers of trucks are relatively stable in the EU and North America, and even growing in key markets such as Brazil, India, China and South East Asia. In fact, Vietnam is expected to double its truck sales by 2020 while Turkey and Indonesia are the fastest-growing and biggest truck markets outside of the developed and BRIC regions (PwC, 2014).

Percentage of regions responsible for truck sales (PwC, 2014)

The logistics of trucking are changing

The distance that most freight deliveries cover has also been affected in the modern era. The rise of companies such as Amazon and eBay have consumers pouncing on online purchases instead of going to shopping centres or malls. Compared to the trucking industry in the 1900s where freight was commonly delivered across countries, 85% of the freight today is delivered a mere 150 km or less (ACEA, 2015). Due to this, the stakeholders in logistics or the transportation field must also consider changes in truck size and efficiency in order to handle freight in urban areas and shorter distances more economically.

Due to the increase in deliverables as well as freight value, improving the logistics and ensuring the eco-friendliness of the trucks becomes a topic of the utmost importance. Several countries have also established stricter emissions limits, which significantly affect the future of the trucking industry. With that being said, let us go through some of the key developments and movements in the truck industry that have occurred recently or are occurring today.

What will the Industry look like in 10 years?

Let us begin with Volvo’s SARTRE project, which involves the development of a so called “Road Train.” What exactly is a road train? It is a group of vehicles connected through wireless technologies, which are then able to follow one another autonomously, while the driver of the vehicle is able to deal with e-mails, phone calls or grab a bite to eat. These road trains are commonly led by a professional Volvo truck driver, and allow the drivers to retain control if they wish to leave the road train, which can result in an array of benefits. Most importantly, fuel efficiency would improve, as the cars all drive at the same speed, eliminating the need for acceleration. The wind resistance is also reduced as the vehicles are able to drive incredibly close to one another, at a distance of approximately 1 meter, without the need to worry about a potential collision. Obviously, the freedom to take the hands off the wheel, which allows drivers to relax and catch their breath, is the icing on the cake.

The benefits for logistics companies is even more immense, as they are capable of having multiple trucks autonomously follow the lead driver, allowing them to save on labour costs as well as deliver higher quantities of freight in a shorter and more fuel-efficient manner. The project looks promising, as it has endured six years of development, over 10,000 km of testing and live demonstrations on highways in Spain.

Another key development in the trucking industry still largely neglected is the “super-wide” tires. Despite existing roughly a decade, these tires have an estimated market share of 5-10% depending on the region. So what are super-wide tires? A typical truck consists of 16 wheels, and the super-wide tires are intended to cut this number to 8 wheels instead. The use of these tires not only trims the number of replacements or repairs, as they are capable of enduring longer trips through harsher terrains, but also benefit the efficiency and emissions of the vehicle. The use of super-wide tires can reduce the rolling resistance by roughly 4% which is highly correlated with a reduction in overall energy used per journey. However, the most important factor may be that the truck drivers themselves seem to prefer the wide-tires for the way they feel while driving. A happy driver, especially one that must travel great distances, can only be good news for OEMs.

Similar to the connected cars industry, the connected truck is also being developed at a rapid pace. Technologies that ensure driver safety such as cameras for reversing or parking, as well as traffic detection already exist in numerous truck models today. Highway cruise control is also in the midst of the testing phase; Daimler trucks have been conducting trial-runs on the Autobahn for half a year now, under differing weather and traffic conditions using the “Daimler Highway Pilot” system. Not only is it capable of recognizing certain patterns, but also able to change gears more efficiently than the driver (5% less emissions). The driver of course is able to retain control at any point, particularly in cases of emergencies, but if there are none, they are able to relax during the highway portions of the journey, which comprise the majority of the trip.

Finally, what about the possibility of utilizing longer or larger trucks? The EU has strict regulations on truck size at roughly 12.1 meters, while their freight counterparts (train and cargo ships) are allowed containers of 13-15 meters. Increasing the length and size of the trucks would not only decrease wind resistance, but also allow them to carry higher quantities of freight, thus decreasing the number of journeys and fuel. While this may not align with the trend that trucks are traveling shorter distances, this increase in cargo size could greatly benefit the cross-country journeys.

The future looks brighter each day...

As we can see, the trucking industry is in the midst of a technological revolution, following its air, sea and personal ground transport counterparts. The strict emissions regulations and governance will only ensure that the changes occur swiftly, and we can all look forward to one day relaxing in a Road Train, taking a break from our long journeys wherever we may be headed.