Dive Brief:
- Roughly $742 million was invested through 59 deals in trucking technology in 2016, CB Insights reports.
- 2017 is on track to surpass that sum, with trucking tech startups earning $583 million across 33 deals as of mid-July. If investment rates continue on pace, the industry could reach the $1 billion mark for the first time.
- Two large U.S. transactions in trucking tech in 2017 include Peloton Technology‘s February $60 million Series B (led by Omnitracs) and Transfix‘s July $42 million Series C (led by NEA).
Dive Insight:
Despite last-gasp efforts to forestall ELD technology, the trucking industry is about to get technical, and an increase in investment shows just how quickly that's likely to happen. Currently, the most popular areas of investment include trucking oriented marketplace platforms, fleet management solutions, onboard monitoring and tracking, and trucking-focused ERP.
ELD itself is another area of potential disruption, since the rollout for implementation is gradual, and time exists for further refinements in the pending HOS recording systems. Further simplifications to the technology will likely appeal to resistant drivers, as will lower prices. As of now, carriers have until December 18, 2017 to transition to Automatic On Board Recording Devices (AOBRDs) and ELDs, with ELDs becoming mandatory by December 16, 2019. Technology companies offering easy to use, affordable AOBRDs will certainly see an improvement in their bottom line in coming years, as will ELD makers.
Finally, as the trucking industry ramps up to prepare for the holiday shipping season, there is a greater need for precise tracking and visibility within the supply chain. Technology such as onboard monitoring and fleet management will aid this process.
