Skip to main content

Trailer telematics a catalyst for fleet optimisation, Finds Frost & Sullivan

The trailer telematics market is fast developing into a major growth engine for the commercial vehicles telematics market in Europe. Immense opportunities await telematics vendors as a majority of the trailer population in Europe (as well as North America) remains underpenetrated. Within the trailer telematics market, trailer location and tracking is the most developed application. However, security concerns and the need for effective mobile asset monitoring and management are creating several new applicati
July 2, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
RSSThe trailer telematics market is fast developing into a major growth engine for the commercial vehicles telematics market in Europe. Immense opportunities await telematics vendors as a majority of the trailer population in Europe (as well as North America) remains underpenetrated.

Within the trailer telematics market, trailer location and tracking is the most developed application. However, security concerns and the need for effective mobile asset monitoring and management are creating several new applications that are positioned in the growth development phase. The cost of trailer telematics hardware is declining, and fleets and leasing companies, along with their customers, are realising the benefits of several emerging telematics solutions.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Analysis of the European Trailer Telematics Market, finds that the potential size of the market is vast and not fully penetrated; less than five per cent in a pool of approximately 2.3 million trailers. However, this is estimated to rise to 18.2 per cent in a pool of nearly 3.1 million trailers in 2017. The research examines the penetration of telematics in trailers, especially in reefer, dry box, tanker, curtain sider and flatbed trailers.

“Consolidation, horizontal collaboration and joint ventures among logistics operators is expected to increase the need for an integrated supply chain solutions provider providing end-to-end asset visibility,” notes Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Niranjan Manohar.

To stay in business and survive competition, fleets must maximise efficiency in all aspects of their operations. Fleets are becoming aware of the tremendous productivity maximisation benefits that trailer telematics can offer to their day-to-day operations, thereby reducing costs.

As trailers are an integral part of freight movement, enhancing elements such as productivity, security, and utilisation of these mobile assets that haul the bulk of industrial and consumer goods in Europe, is emerging as a key issue.

“As the fleets’ and leasing companies’ operations get increasingly interfaced with that of their customers, the need for effective trailer tracking for productivity improvement is more critical now than ever before,” explains Manohar.

Efforts are being made to standardise enabling technologies and to absorb steady price declines, without compromising on profitability. In the medium-term, price-sensitiveness of the market is expected to ensure a future where price declines in both hardware and services market will be evident.

“Aftermarket vendors are re-thinking their strategies and have decided to form  partnerships with other  trailer telematics vendors to market and test their respective low- to high-end trailer solutions, allowing them to gauge and understand the industry know how’s,” remarks Manohar.

Ultimately, telematics vendors offering services that are reliable and superior in quality are expected to be the most sought after. Participants will need to provide the right product and service mix to strengthen their value proposition.

Related Content

  • April 18, 2012
    Commercial telematics consolidation
    The long awaited and much needed commercial telematics consolidation movement is finally coming to fruition, according to ABI Research. With Trimble’s acquisition of PeopleNet and Masternaut and Cybit combining forces, the extremely fragmented commercial telematics industry, which consists of hundreds of locally active players, is consolidating to become more globally-minded. These changes will allow the fleet management industry to grow towards yearly global revenues of US$6.43 billion by 2016.
  • May 30, 2012
    Four predictions for the automotive and transportation industry
    Frost & Sullivan has released the results from its customer survey with several hundred companies conducted in December 2011, executed to find out the top predictions for 2012 for the global automotive and transportation market. Market growth in all regions except Europe, accelerated introduction of plug in hybrid and battery electric vehicles due to increasing fuel prices, mobility and integrated transportation as well as the integration of the smart phone with dedicated application stores and innovative H
  • May 17, 2012
    Hybrid and EVs growth impact on traction motors predicted by Frost & Sullivan
    Electrification in vehicles is a key trend in the automotive industry. The increase in electric components within vehicles is boosting the market for traction motors and Frost & Sullivan says it anticipates the European traction motor market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50 per cent for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). Permanent magnet motors are expected to dominate the market by virtue of their performance and efficiency. However, the growing concern over t
  • July 25, 2017
    Global automotive aftermarket boosted by eRetailing, telematics, says research
    Global Automotive Aftermarket Outlook, recent research from Frost & Sullivan, indicates that penetration of eRetailing in the automotive aftermarket is increasing significantly and is expected to cross US$21 billion globally by the end of 2017. The study provides an overview of the global automotive aftermarket and its growth opportunities. Main industry trends, growth prospects, VIO, eRetail dashboards, country snapshots, and opportunities in North America, Europe, China, India and Latin America are provid