The AI (Artificial Intelligence) market for the commercial trucking industry is growing rapidly. Forecasts are for this market to grow at an 18% rate from 2017 to 2030. By 2030, the AI market in trucking is expected to reach $10.3 billion. Many feel that AI will be more important over this period than the autonomous trucking market. One market will likely grow along with the other market. They will develop and feed off each other.

However, the implementation of these 2 markets (AI and autonomous trucking) will face some challenges. These will be similar to the challenges other industries have faced when confronting major digital transformations. The following discusses some of the items that will be addressed by these transformations.

Concerns and Industry Problems

A shortage of drivers and issues of safety are primary concerns in the commercial trucking industry. AI has already begun and will continue to address these concerns. Remote-controlled trucking (a truck with a remote driver) is largely using the developments in the autonomous trucking market. AI will surely be used along with these developments to help make remote-controlled trucking a reality. And it may be that remote-controlled trucking will lead to fully autonomous trucking. Either will help the shortage of drivers.

AI has the potential to be a big help to the individual trucker and truck fleets. Trucking fleets have started to use AI-assisted route planning software to help plan truckers’ routes. AI can take account of performance-based assignments, load, weather, traffic, and road conditions in developing a plan for the trucker and modifying his/her route as conditions change. These improvements are seen in what is called a “workflow”. The driver on his/her route continually updates his/her workflow through a mobile device. The software could be cloud-based and could feed the workflow with updated weather and road conditions. To the extent this is a benefit to the trucker, fleets will find it easier to retain truck drivers, and have more efficient routes in the process.

The commercial trucking industry has an unfair reputation for adopting technology; namely that the industry is slow in adapting. However, fleets are now demanding technology that will help improve efficiency, with driver shortages being one of the problems directly addressed. Customer demand is high and growing for truck-related shipments. Driver shortages add to this strain on fleets as they struggle to meet increased demand. Navigating these circumstances calls for software utilizing AI, data, and analytics as fleet managers try to satisfy increased business.

What is Coming in the Next 5 – 10 Years?

Though the big talking points presently in the industry are for remote-controlled trucking and autonomous trucking, it may be that AI-related developments will be more important in the coming few years. These will be AI-driven cloud-based fleet management developments and automation. We can expect to see drivers and fleet managers become more familiar with, and even demanding, AI-based software which results in more efficient routing and truck management. We will see fleets adopt digital planning, billing, and management tools. They will move toward a more paperless work environment.

There is still a lot of work to be done in AI to develop its potential and that of its relative, machine learning. Once it develops predictive algorithms, we will see a significant advancement in fleet efficiency. Fleets will then be able to use historical and real-time data in route planning and fleet management. Fleets will be able to more accurately predict demand, plan shipments, and optimize routes. Equipped with predictive technology based on advancements in AI, fleets will be able to gain a competitive advantage by preparing for industry-wide changes in advance of the fact.

In Summary

Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, mobile devices, and cloud-based computing are set to make a significant difference in the trucking industry over the foreseeable future. Trucking routes will be laid out by software as a trucker drives his/her route, taking into consideration the current load, weather, road conditions, and traffic. Advances in AI will also help fleet management become more efficient in managing the truck fleet. Instead of data residing in the trucker and the dispatcher, data will be real-time and historical, with routes becoming better planned. Driver shortages will be at least partially addressed through these improvements. It will be a new day in trucking.

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