The number of fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6%, according to analyst firm Berg Insight.
The installed number will grow from 2.1 million in the final quarter of 2010 to reach 3.8 million by 2015.
In Latin America, the number of installed fleet management systems is expected to increase from 0.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, growing at a CAGR of 20.6% to reach 2.3 million in 2015.
Fleet management vendors such as Qualcomm, Xata and Peoplenet remain largely focussed on the high-end trucking segment. Non-trucking segments such as delivery, utility and service are addressed by another group of vendors including Fleetmatics, Networkfleet and Wireless Matrix.
The high-end vendors tend to offer customised products via a consultative sales process, whereas others adopt indirect sales models based on distributors and integrators, and offer more standard products.
The report – “Fleet Management in the Americas” – cites customer awareness of the benefits of telematics as the main driver behind growth.
“Today, managers in North America generally know that fleet management technology can help their businesses reduce costs and improve efficiency,” said Rickard Andersson, telecoms analyst at Berg Insight.
“In Latin America, an educational process may, however, be needed to increase the awareness among prospective users about the benefits that fleet management brings beyond mere security related features.”
New regulations related to road transport activities also have a major impact on the market environment. The recently implemented CSA safety scoring system in the USA to identify high-risk motor carriers requiring interventions is one example. The hours-of-service regulations are further being revised and a mandate to use electronic on-board recorders to log working hours for truckers is likely to come in place starting in 2012 for new vehicles eventually to include all commercial vehicles.
In Brazil, the mandated installation of tracking units in all new vehicles is also an important influencer of the development in the region.