A new acronym is front and center among commercial fleets as interest in investing in artificial intelligence (AI) pulls ahead of autonomous vehicles (AVs).
That’s according to the 2024 Fleet Technology Index (FTI) report, which indicates market readiness and expectation for adoption of forward-looking fleet technologies, by data analytics and advisory firm Escalent.
The overall FTI score for 2024 has risen 39% over 2020 from 21.4 to 29.7 as more than half (52%) of fleet decision-makers have indicated that business has returned to normal following the pandemic. The overall FTI score for fleets that deploy Class 8 trucks – 66 out of the 1,000 survey respondents – increased only 1%.
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“Our data showcases that businesses with heavy duty trucks tend to be larger fleets – who in general are more proactive and forward-looking related to technology consideration,” said Lucas Lowden, insights consultant for the automotive and mobility practice at Escalent. “While the overall market reported a pullback of technology readiness in 2022, the heavy-duty sector declined in both 2022 and 2023, which tempered the five-year growth rate. However, heavy duty businesses are reporting solid growth compared to last year and continue to pace ahead of the fleet market overall for technology readiness.”
For respondents that deploy Class 8s, the FTI for emerging – AI, drones, mobility services and blockchain – technologies decreased 6%, while the FTI for all respondents for emerging technologies, increased 43% from an index score of 16.6 in 2020 to 23.7 in 2024. That hefty increase is driven in large part by AI, which saw a 75% increase from 2020 and a 41% increase from 2023.
That decrease in adoption of emerging technologies among the heavy-duty sector doesn’t mean the trucking industry isn’t adopting AI. Many fleets are using AI in customer service with the deployment of chatbots, while others are using it for freight matching, routing and dispatch, among other things.
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Respondents in the heavy-duty sector trended alongside other fleet industry respondents with growth of interest in adopting core technologies (data analytics, telematics, battery electric vehicles (BEV) and AVs). The FTI score for core tech grew 35% from 26.3 in 2020 to 35.6 in 2024, driven primarily by investments in data analytics and telematics, while interest in BEVs and AVs waned.
The BEV index score saw an 8% year-over-year decline. Companies both shopping for and intending to invest in BEVs in the next six months decreased 16%. The proportion of companies not considering adding a BEV into the fleet has increased by 21% compared to 2023.
“The intersection of data analytics, telematics and AI is truly revolutionary, and fleets are showing optimism and early adoption for these technologies as they operate in a state of continuous improvement to remain competitive,” said Dania Rich-Spencer, vice president and strategic advisor for Fleet Advisory Hub at Escalent. “The adoption curve of these data-driven technologies has been defined by larger fleets of over 50 vehicles and those operating heavier-class vehicles. To continue driving adoption, service providers need to demonstrate how these technologies can feasibly be integrated into small- and medium-sized fleets and drive business value.”
Angel Coker Jones is a senior editor of Commercial Carrier Journal, covering the technology, safety and business segments. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and kayaking, horseback riding, foraging for medicinal plants and napping. She also enjoys traveling to new places to try local food, beer and wine. Reach her at [email protected].
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