Transplace, a provider of transportation management services and logistics technology, announced the results of its Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Survey conducted to gain insight into implementation preparedness and expected impact for transportation carriers. The survey, which included more than 400 carriers of various profiles, identified that responses to ELD implementation and expected impact to capacity and utilization varied heavily by fleet size.
“While created to improve safety within the transportation industry, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s ELD mandate has left shippers and carriers with a lot of questions: how will this impact driver productivity; will drivers leave the industry as a result; will smaller carriers close up and leave the industry,” said Frank McGuigan, president and chief operating officer, Transplace. “This survey allowed Transplace to hear directly from our carrier partners and gain first-hand insight into how they are responding to the mandate and their expectations for how the use of ELDs will impact their businesses.”
Key observations from the ELD Survey include:
- ELD implementation varied heavily by fleet size: The study revealed that there is a significant difference in the amount of implemented ELDs between large and small fleets. Eighty-one percent of large fleets (more than 250 trucks) reported that they had achieved full ELD implementation, with the remaining 19 percent working towards implementation. Conversely, small fleets (less than 250 trucks) have been much slower to integrate ELDs, with only 33 percent having fully integrated ELDs into their fleet. Another 29 percent have begun the implementation process, while the remaining 38 percent have no immediate plans to begin implementation.
- Capacity and utilization expected to change, but the amount varies: While most carriers expect their capacity or utilization to be affected as a result of ELDs, 56 percent of large fleets expect their utilization to decrease while 32 percent expect to see no impact from their implementation. Smaller fleets are even more cautious about how their utilization will be affected, with 64 percent expecting a decrease, while 25 percent expecting to see no change.
- Drivers have already left the industry as a result of ELDs: As expected, ELDs have caused drivers to exit the industry. In fact, 51 percent of carriers indicated that they have lost drivers who did not want to operate under ELDs. While most indicated that they only lost a few drivers, one carrier reported losing 50 percent of its drivers. According to another, “We have 110 trucks and lost 29 drivers when we switched them over to e-logs.”
- ELDs will have a significant financial impact: While all carriers surveyed expect a financial impact as a result, the average financial impact per unit varies: $100 to $300 (18 percent); $300 to $500 (19 percent); $500 to $700 (18 percent); and more than $700 (45 percent).
- ELDs have led to a reduction in hours of service (HOS) and logging violations: Of those carriers that have implemented ELDs, 84 percent of large fleets and 56 percent of smaller fleets reported a reduction in HOS and logging violations.
- ELDs will have some business benefits: While the anticipated impact on the industry has been generally negative, carriers do foresee some benefits as a result of ELD utilization within their companies, including: improved monitoring (33 percent); better driver and equipment utilization (21 percent); driver convenience (10 percent); reduced operating costs (two percent); fuel savings (two percent); and other (32 percent).
Ben Cubitt, senior vice president, consulting and engineering at Transplace, added, “Implementation of ELDs has been significantly slower for carriers with smaller fleets. While some carriers are still researching the technology, others indicated that they are holding out in the hope that the mandate will be overturned in court. One carrier responded to the survey by saying, ‘I will sell out first.’ While much can happen between now and when the mandate takes full effect on December 16, 2017, most carriers – large and small – anticipate a noticeable impact to utilization and capacity. The challenge will be to find the right balance of good safety practices without causing a significant disruption to the transportation industry.”
To learn more about Transplace’s ELD survey, visit http://go.transplace.com/ELD_LP.
