Fleet Maintenance 1220 - 8

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FROM THE EDITORS

Top trends in trucking
Key areas that are driving change in the industry.

By Erica
Schueller
Editorial
Director

The trucking industry is a vast and various
arena, serving many aspects of the economy.
While businesses and responsibilities
differ for every fleet, there are trends across
the commercial vehicle industry that have
already touched every fleet in some way - and
will continue to do that well into the future.
The following trends look to address some
or all of the key areas that fleets continually
monitor and improve.

Parts procurement
and ecommerce

While many fleets today still work with
an independent parts distributor or dealer
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network that delivers parts on demand, those
relationships will be supplanted with online
parts ordering options and a continued migration to ecommerce platforms.
Some fleets have already started to implement automatic replenishment processes for
parts restocking. Another current trend includes
changes to inventory methods, with a larger focus
placed on breadth versus depth on parts shelves.
This can be attributed to the just-in-time parts
delivery practices that have gained momentum.
Add to that, expedited shipping will continue to
improve from multi-day down to next-day shipping, with same-day shipping on the horizon.
These faster delivery
times are aided by
the growing network
of parts distribution
centers throughout
North America.
Looking toward the
future, as telematics,
vehicle connectivity,
and data collection
and analysis of vehicle
»There are trends across the trucking
performance expand,
industry that touch every fleet in some way.
we will have a better
5549416 | Phartisan | Dreamstime
idea of vehicle issues
to move to a predictive
maintenance model and subsequently ordering
parts before failures occur.

Emissions and fuel
efficiency improvements

To address ever-stringent federal greenhouse
gas emissions and fuel economy requirements, manufacturers have been tasked with
developing further advancements in vehicle
systems efficiency and emissions reduction.
The latest trends include diesel engine optimization by way of engine right-sizing, engine

8 Fleet Maintenance | December 2020

downspeeding, and the spec'ing of lower
viscosity engine oils.
Outside of the powertrain, fleets are looking to spec fuel efficiency products such as
low rolling resistance (LRR) tires and aerodynamic devices. Additionally, OEs continue
to lightweight the vehicle body, systems, and
components to lower the overall weight of
the equipment.
When it comes to engine and aftertreatment
systems, functionality like cylinder deactivation technology, improvements to the engine
braking system and the turbocharger, dual SCR
systems, and heated diesel exhaust fluid (DEF)
dosers are all in testing currently.
Options such as renewable diesel, renewable
natural gas, and hydrogen fuel cell technology
are also on the table. The most imminent to
date, though, seems to be battery electric.

Vehicle electrification

Just in the last 18 months, truck OEs have
completed real-world testing of full battery
electric trucks. Volvo will even begin full
production of its VNR Electric Class 8 model
in early 2021. Full electric trucks will see faster
adoption in the medium duty market, though
(particularly pickup and delivery, and urban
applications). In the meantime, the industry
must address long-standing challenges plaguing widespread electric vehicle adoption:
finding the right application, implementing a
comprehensive charging network, and, like any
new technology, justifying the higher price tag
of these vehicles.
Looking toward the future, expect to see 48V
systems and higher on heavy duty trucks. The
powertrain will evolve, and power management options will expand with the implementation of power distribution units (PDUs),
electrified transmissions, and electric axles.
These systems will first supplement a diesel
engine, but will eventually pave the way to full
vehicle electrification.
Also as it relates to electrification, look
for electronic braking systems, or EBS, and
electromagnetic braking systems as feasible
alternatives to the anti-lock braking system
and traditional air brake system, respectively.
If not a replacement, Bendix has been working to develop EBS as a redundant system for
use in autonomous vehicle technology.

Autonomous vehicle
technology

We won't see a full Class 8 SAE Level 5 autonomous truck on the road anytime soon, but

advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) will
continue to drive the industry toward increasingly autonomous systems on the vehicle.
That begins first with monitoring all
aspects of the vehicle in real-time. There are
sensors to monitor tire pressure and temperature, wheel-end temperature, whether a door
is open or closed, anti-lock brake (ABS) faults,
load sensors, vehicle emissions, and more.
Expect more enhanced monitoring capabilities from sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar
to increase safety for drivers and improve
vehicle system efficiency.
In addition to more enhanced technology,
vehicles will also have system redundancies.
That's because when something breaks on an
autonomous vehicle, since there's no operator to recognize an issue, a second system
must provide backup to ensure the vehicle
can be controlled in the event of the primary
system's failure.

Connectivity and data

The connectivity of vehicle systems and the
collection and assessment of data in real-time will
continue to drive vehicle safety and efficiency.
Today, telematics has allowed fleets to
monitor the location and status of assets. If
an issue occurs, fleets can diagnose an issue
and understand the level of severity in order
to make quick and accurate decisions.
What can we expect in the future? OEs will
continue to make it easier to review and understand data, providing actionable information.
Our industry will see further integration of
data into all aspects of business and enhanced
vehicle communications, not just between
the vehicle and the fleet, but also communication between other vehicles and immediate
surroundings. This type of continuous, realtime communication will require more data
transferred more quickly - so 5G LTE networks
will be critical.
As these advancements happen, it is also critical that fleets understand data ownership and
user agreements. That doesn't just address the
question of who owns the data (hint - it's the
fleet), but if the fleet actually has access to their
own data. Plus, be mindful of cybersecurity and
securing access to data since adding remote
access to vehicles creates another potential
entry point for hackers and others with nefarious intent to tamper with the vehicles.
It can be difficult to recognize change while
our industry is in the middle of it. It's not until
we reflect on these changes over the course
of several months or years and look back on
them that we can really begin to acknowledge
that progress.

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Fleet Maintenance 1220

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