The future of trucking will see a stronger OEM relationship with its customers, in terms of monitoring equipment sold, as well as more of a mass market appeal for hybrids, according to experts at the recent Heavy Duty Dialogue 2010 in Las Vegas. With new truck sales lagging behind, the panel has already seen a growth in OEMs’ interest in telematic implementation and upkeep of sophisticated software platforms. But the next phase of that equipment monitoring will focus on driver behavior.

OEM Interest in Technology Boosted by Lagging Sales

LAS VEGAS — While the past decade served mainly as an R&D period for advanced truck technologies, the next 10 years is when telematic and hybrid systems will really mature for real-world use.

That was the word from a trio of experts at the Heavy Duty Dialogue 2010 here in Las Vegas during a panel discussion on trucking technology, titled The Next 10 Years.

Clem Driscoll of research firm CJ Driscoll & Associates said that while many fleets have experimented with various telematic technology in a portion of their fleet, the economy of scale is improving so quickly that implementing such products in many more trucks working in a wider variety of applications is inevitable over the next decade.

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