Major alterations ahead for the truck telematics landscape

Major alterations ahead for the truck telematics landscape

Industry expert says Verizon’s acquisition of Telogis and Fleetmatics, combined with the ELD mandate, are “significant market events.”

ATLANTA. The “most significant market consolidation” in the history of the truck telematics industry, coupled with what’s expected to be a huge spike in demand due to the electronic logging device (ELD), are going to create “major impact” upon the truck telematics industry, according to Clem Driscoll, president of consulting firm C.J. Driscoll & Associates.

Speaking here at the TU-Automotive Connected Fleets USA conference, Driscoll said that the acquisition of Telogis and Fleetmatics by Verizon Telematics this year will give Verizon a “significant distribution advantage” in the U.S. in many market segments, with the Fleetmatics acquisition in particular opening up a number of overseas markets to Verizon.

As a result of the $2.4 billion acquisition of Fleetmatics, Driscoll said Verizon now controls 24% of the total U.S. installed base of GPS fleet management systems and 33% of the installed base of local service, delivery, and government fleet systems.

Yet will Verizon continue to operate its own internal fleet telematics division as well as the Telogis and Fleetmatics operations it has acquired as separate independent businesses or integrate them? “That is not known at this time,” Driscoll said. “But as it stands now with those acquisitions, Verizon may actually end up competing with itself in some markets.”

On top of that, he said the impending ELD mandate is expected to add one million or more units to the current U.S. installed base of commercial telematics solutions – equating to a 70% increase in the number of in-cab telematics units in service in the trucking sector.

“The ELD mandate is just going to have a huge impact on the telematics market,” Driscoll noted. “We’re also going to see a lot more smart phones and tablet [computers] used in this space [the trucking industry] to meet the ELD requirements.”

Read more : https://www.fleetowner.com/technology/article/21694878/major-alterations-ahead-for-the-truck-telematics-landscape