Trucking Trends in Logistics

Dispatcher trainingTrucking logistics concerns the research and planning of trucking operations for the delivery of goods, while striving for continuous gains in productivity and efficiency. Logistics involves planning the most efficient routes, hiring expert drivers and selecting the best fuel types in regards to market trends. If you are taking dispatcher training, your career will revolve around many of these important logistical elements. Scheduling driver pickups and deliveries, monitoring driving logs and being aware of driver locations are all duties of a trucking dispatcher. It’s a challenging job, and stress can arise when a delivery isn’t made on time, which is why dispatchers will be glad to know that auto industry innovators have their back. New vehicle designs are incorporating logistics needs, in the hopes of making the duties of a truck driver and dispatcher a little easier.

2012 Mercedes-Benz Actros

Mercedes-Benz is a part of the Daimler Trucks division, a high-profile company which is constantly designing state of the art transport vehicles. The new 2012 Actros is a huge leap forward from the standard cargo trucks we currently see on highways. This vehicle is being praised for its handling attributes, which feature extremely precise and sensitive steering. Safety is always an issue on highways, especially when operating such a heavy vehicle. The Actros has optional Proximity Control Assist, which reduces the risk of rear-end collisions by automatically bringing the truck to a halt in stop-and-go traffic. The truck has also been designed as a workstation, and the dash totes a state of the art radio and navigation system.

Auto mechanic courses

Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience

Professionals pursuing auto careers wouldn’t normally associate vehicle innovations with Walmart. However, being the world’s largest company means Walmart has a duty to innovate, especially when it comes to the transportation of its goods across the country. The new, futuristic looking Walmart vehicle functions off a hybrid powertrain combined with an electric motor and battery storage system. The vehicle can run on diesel, natural gas and biodiesel. The cabin of the truck is the first ever to be completely built out of carbon fibre, which saves weight and boosts cargo capacity. The company has not made plans to release this vehicle to the highways yet, but is a testing ground for new trucking technologies which can improve logistics.

Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2020

The most innovative out of the lot, Mercedes-Benz is showing they can do more than design cars. You may have heard recent reports of self-driving cars, such as the model designed by Google. Mercedes-Benz wants to make the leap and bring this technology to trucking. Their FT 2020 would introduce a new era where transport truckers are no longer drivers—they’re managers. Manual driving would be used in cities; however, once a truck is on the highway, autonomous driving would kick in. While the truck drives itself, the driver can use the vehicle’s built-in tablet to process documents, schedule destinations and coordinate with logistics personnel. This type of technology aims to reduce accidents and break-downs, and will inevitably change how auto mechanic courses approach truck repairs in the near future.

How do you feel about expanding innovations in driverless vehicles such as the FT 2020? 

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