Haulage firms to invest in telematics

Telematics, the process of real-time tracking and monitoring of vehicles and drivers through a mobile datalink, has currently been implemented by just 50% of companies in the haulage industry, but the survey suggests that this figure is set to grow to over 80% within the year.

Ian Carr, a partner within Grant Thornton’s Recovery & Reorganisation practice, said: “Monitoring a wide range of journey factors in real time has created immediate productivity pay-offs within the haulage industry, including improved service standards through information sharing with clients, reduced fuel consumption through monitoring engine behaviour, and assistance in conforming with the increasingly strict regulatory environment.”

The greatest uptake of telematics (69%) was within medium-sized fleets (£6m–£10m turnover), the group identified as facing the greatest competitive pressures. Larger fleets (£11m-plus turnover) had a telematics uptake of just 37%, but this was also the group with the greatest number of organisations (47%) planning to implement telematics technology over the next 12 months.