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We're just over one month into the ELD mandate era, and one thing has become clear: the industry's transition to Electronic Logging Devices is far from over.
According to the “Bloomberg/Truckstop Quarterly Truckload Survey” conducted by Truckstop.com and Bloomberg, 28% of truckers have yet to adopt a compliant ELD. The results represent a stark increase from Q3’s survey, where 76% of the market had yet to implement an ELD.
Despite the progress, 28% is an astonishing number. It means that out of an estimated 3.1 million truckers who must comply with the ELD mandate, about 868,000 have yet to adopt a solution.
67% of the survey’s respondents had five or fewer trucks while 83% had twenty or fewer.
Here’s how the responses broke down by fleet type:
Some Good News for Truckers: Tightened Capacity and Rising Rates
The research also conveyed some interesting insights into future capacity and rates.
Here’s what the Bloomberg/Truckstop Quarterly Truckload Survey had to say:
“About 74% of truckers polled said spot rates, excluding fuel surcharges, will rise in the next sixth months. That's a gain of 16 percentage points from 4Q1.”
“About 78% of truckers polled said volume will rise in the next six months, a 4 percentage-point gain from 4Q16 and 17 percentage-point jump from 3Q17.”
It’s clear that big profits will be made in 2018 by those ready to seize the opportunity.
The Time to Get Compliant is Now
With out-of-service orders for not having a compliant ELD starting on April 1st, implementing ELDs cannot be put off any longer.
And if you already have an ELD? It may be worth doing some homework on whether it’s actually compliant. Here’s what the former head of the FMCSA, Annette Sandberg had to say about the self-certification list:
“As a former regulator, the biggest concern I have is the number of ELD vendors that are currently on the FMCSA list [of approved vendors] that probably should not be. Vendors on this list are supposed to have ELD systems that can be self-certified, which means it meets the criteria and can be added to the approved list.”
In short, self-certified does not mean FMCSA compliant. However, the FMCSA does offer a “Choosing an Electronic Logging Device Checklist.” We recommend asking your ELD vendor (whether current or prospective) to walk you through how the ELD delivers on each point. Not being able to do so is a major red flag.
Three Tips to Find the Right ELD
If you’re ready to get compliant but unsure of where to start, here are three tips to find the right ELD:
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Look for reviews from real users, on unbiased platforms such as the Google Play Store, the iTunes store, and ELDRatings.com.
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Focus on ease of use. Your success with any technology is predicated on your team’s ability to use it. If it’s not intuitive and requires extensive training, you’ll have headaches down the road.
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24/7 support from real people, not machines. Find the vendors support line on their website and give it a call. If you can’t get an answer or prompt response, run.
Our Recommendation
We recommend KeepTruckin. KeepTruckin has a two-minute “plug n play” install and is the easiest-to-use ELD in the market. Its leading technology is backed by best-in-class, 24/7 support to walk you through every step.
KeepTruckin is trusted by over 40,000 carriers and 500,000 drivers. A 5-star app store rating is the proof that KeepTruckin delivers on their promises.
The best part? KeepTruckin can be purchased online, in under five minutes. Click here to learn more.
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