TRUCKING\\\


goal was to provide agility, flexibility, timeliness and flexibility. He says he found this with the CX North America mobile app. Harrison notes that


his


drivers can send alerts showing current load status and future availability, as well as “Smart Alerts” that keep


“You don’t deploy technology for the sake of technology.”


-- Jerry Kilgore, CRST International


customers updated on their current location. “The real- time tracking aspect of the app has been beneficial,” he says. Scott Sullivan serves as CIO and CFO for Pitt


both


Ohio. He says there’s a digital transformation under way. He cites Pitt Ohio’s use of APIs (application interface)


to pass


programming real-time


data between the company and its customers. He says it can provide a customer with an ETA of a shipment within a two-hour window “From an efficiency aspect,


that improves communication between customers and shippers


and shippers and


carriers,” Sullivan says. “It’s eliminated a lot of back office calls, faxes and that sort of thing.”


Questions Remain


The concept of driverless trucks, and of Uber Freight have the trucking industry intrigued. But many trucking officials says many question remain to be answered about both. Some are waiting to see how Uber Freight develops while some are skeptical about the entire idea of driverless trucks. Pitt Ohio’s Sullivan says the


idea of driverless trucks is interesting, but exactly how it will serve the industry is yet to be determined. He believes there will always be a person in the truck, whether it’s a driver or an engineer. Brian Balius, vice president


of transportation for SAIA, believes widespread use of driverless trucks is something that will happen far in the future, it at all. “It’s difficult for us to imagine


being driverless,” Balius says. “It will require an evolution over many years, but we are certainly keeping abreast of it.” Kilgore says CRST is closely


following the development of


other technologies Freight. “Driver such


as driver-less trucks and Uber


assist


technologies that leverage advanced sensors and automation to provide better situational awareness and handling of the truck are already having an impact on safety,” he says. “Further development of these technologies will enable highway approved platooning solutions in the near future. As an asset-based company,


“Our tools aim to help [carries] save


time through streamlined processes so they can operate more smoothly.” -- Chad Lindbloom, CIO at C.H. Robinson


we will be positioned to take


advantage of these


technologies as they become available. We are not afraid of them, we believe they will help our drivers.” Kilgore says the


“Uberization” of trucking, like the Uber ride-sharing service, aims to eliminate the middle-man and improve the efficiency of matching shippers with available capacity. “We are watching this with


great anticipation,” Kilgore says.


with our customers. We intend to follow this closely as it will absolutely affect our industry over time.” C.H. Robinson’s Lindbloom


notes that transportation, like every other industry, is facing a changing world given the rapid pace of technology advancements. “Companies like Uber are


entering the transportation industry with a specific technology


product – and


some that have the potential to drive new innovation into the industry,” he says. “At this


“The real-time tracking aspect of [‘Smart Alerts’] has been beneficial.” -- David Harrison, Little Truck Solutions


“Unlike the ride-sharing


market where Uber enables everyday people to re-purpose their car to compete with taxi and shuttle services, the trucking industry can’t be displaced by the re-purposing of non-commercial assets. The objective of these technology providers in trucking is to remove any middle man that


time, Uber Freight is bringing their app technology to freight brokerage. That said, they will face similar challenges to what logistics firms face – the need to move shipments using a finite set of contract carriers. We believe that each and every competitor brings something new to the industry, just as we do day-in and day-out.”


obscures real-time situational awareness about capacity and pricing, give the shippers direct access to the assets they need to move their goods, and make the transaction as efficient as possible by streamlining and automating


the pricing and


billing processes. “As a trucking company, the


assets belong to us and we like to control those assets and the information about our fleet,” Kilgore says. “As the market moves


toward adoption


David Heller, Vice President of Government Affairs, Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), provides insights regarding Uber Freight. Here are some of his comments during an exclusive interview with CX North America. TCA represents 700


of


these technologies, it will undoubtedly drive changes to the way we transact business


companies in 48 U.S. states and Canada. Its members collectively own over 200,000 trucks and generate a combined annual revenue exceeding $20 billion. Q: Can Uber Freight compete


with established operators, many of whom have been spent decades perfecting their service offering? A: Certainly, if Uber is to


make the necessary inroads to take on larger 3PLs, it will take time, patience and money. Take the four largest 3PLs,


for example. According


to Armstrong & Anderson Associates, global logistics giant, DHL, records annual revenues of over $29 million, Kuehne + Nagel’s


gross


revenue tops $21 million and DB Schenker, another EPL leviathan, is not far behind at $17 million. These figures illustrate the enormity of the task ahead for Uber. Second, experience counts


in the freight business. Just ask any of the several thousand TCA members. Many have built multimillion dollar businesses from nothing, and the knowledge and experience they


have accrued over


several decades, which has been passed from generation to generation, have proved invaluable. For that reason, Uber may, at first, struggle to make headway. Uber’s progress also could


be stymied by slow take-up, regulation and infrastructure. Fully autonomous vehicles, for example, are not likely to become commonplace for several decades. In a recent report, IHS Markit predicts that there will be 21.5 million vehicles on the road by 2035. But let’s not forget that each year carmakers produce 82.9 million conventionally powered automobiles. Perhaps most important, most of the vehicles in these statistics will


Issue 5 2017 - FBJNA


21 Uber Freight Viewpoint


be cars, not trucks. Third, the connected V2V and V2i landscapes that autonomous vehicle (AV)


technology needs to


flourish are yet to be created. While the US Department of Transportation is piloting three connected vehicle projects in New York, Tampa and Wyoming, it may be many years before our members are able to actually make use of these connected real-world environments. Furthermore, Uber also will


have to contend with lots of red tape. As the technology is in its infancy, there are very few standards and laws that have been passed around autonomous driving, and it may be the case that this innovative technology will have to wait for federal law to catch up before self-driving trucks can be rolled out. But, I believe in the long


term, Uber, which is worth around $70 billion, will be able to overcome these hurdles and its Uber Freight business will be a success. Q: What will be the negative


impact? Surely, there is a threat to TCA members’ livelihoods if Uber’s ultimate goal is autonomous fleets? A: Certainly Uber’s business


model will have a major impact on the 3.5 million US truck drivers over the long term. Exactly what effect it will have is very difficult to forecast. I have read many reports, with each one publishing varying figures. One study by a leading US bank even predicts that full automation could account for two-thirds of America’s driver pool.


I believe that while the


emergence of Uber Freight will redefine and reshape future driver requirements, it doesn’t mean it will make truckers redundant. I have represented the TCA


for 12 years, and the innovative and pioneering approach of our members has always resonated deeply with me. They are extremely agile, flexible and open to tweaking their business models when confronted with a downturn. And, whether they are large players or small, one-truck


operations, they will always embrace new technologies, upskill in their highly collaborative networks and continue to prosper as a result. There are,


though, many


questions that remain unanswered. How does Uber and the other 27 load- matching apps that are currently competing for market share, address the issue of security and how does it safeguard fleets from cyberterrorism? Two years ago, for instance, two security researchers demonstrated how easy it was to infiltrate the security system of a Fiat Chrysler. Second,


and even more


concerning, is that terrorists, in a spate of recent attacks in France, Germany and Israel, have


used heavy goods


vehicles (HGVs) as a weapon of destruction. In short, this is a pressing


issue that is simply too big for Uber to deal with alone. Instead, it is a global conundrum that will require the finest minds in OEMs, government and the software security testing community to find a solution. Uber’s rise could be


checked by cost, too. The most challenging period for Uber will be producing the first batch of these state-of-the- art autonomous trucks. Only when it has the confidence of the industry will it be able to manufacture the vehicle at scale for a much lower cost. Finally, I believe another


obstacle is that in this “arms race”–like environment in which OEMs are competing to produce autonomous trucks, there is a danger that some of the basic features may be forgotten. For example, can the


self-driving vehicles of


tomorrow really do without a human? Who, for instance, will unload the vehicle? And how will it be achieved? Is this technology being currently worked on by manufacturers, and, if not, will it be retrofitted into trucks at a later stage? And, in this culture of secrecy, how damaging will a lack of collaboration between the key manufacturers be for AV uptake? Only time will tell.


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