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Most of the talk surrounding 3D printing in the trucking industry centers on how it can be used to supply replacement parts for older vehicles. But its real value is much greater than that.

Pretty much everyone knows tires are second only to fuel among operating costs for fleets. What's new is how the industry will deal with the potential for tire failures on autonomous trucks.

Freight and logistics always have depended on the human touch, but technology is getting smarter and many brokers wonder if their efforts will become unnecessary.

When it comes to the trucking industry, we deal with a pace of change that has been constant for years: changing fuel costs, increased regulations, driver shortages, etc.

Vigillo President Steve Bryan reviews each of the four categories in a recent report that outlines recommendations to reform the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

Trucking can always use more technology. That’s one reason we see so many tech startups in the industry these days.

The electronic logging device mandate for tracking hours of service has brought a lot of attention to truck telematics, and many experts are providing advice on how to prepare for that transition. But one aspect of telematics that few are addressing is how underutilized most existing systems are. In my estimate, only three in 10 fleets are utilizing their telematics system to the max.

In 2008, I wrote an article where I described a future scenario in which a driver in a truck is leading a convoy of several driverless trucks. In 2011, I began predicting that we would have autonomous cars on the market and on the roadways by 2020. These predictions seem to be turning out better than my 2007 prediction that Apple would not get much market share in the cellphone business.

As reported in Transport Topics in early December 2016, (12-12, pp. 4, 43) American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear told a roundtable of lawmakers at a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., that the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC, represents the future of secure transportation.

The new year often brings changes. And rarely has that been as true as this year, as we have just inaugurated a new president who appears poised to change Washington. It’s also a time of renewed focus, to reflect on where we are and look forward and position for success.