June/July 2003

Only 17 per cent of the biggest companies in membership of the Freight Transport Association currently use automatic vehicle tracking systems, according to the 200 responses from a survey of the top 1,200 members. Four per cent are actively considering telematics systems, and 9 per cent more "may be interested." But 99 per cent of respondents used mobile phones to keep in touch with drivers.

The survey results are published in Telematics Guide, a new 34-page A4 publication from the FTA. The document presents a brief but helpfully wide-ranging informative roundup of many key issues arising in the telematics market, and includes thumbnail case studies describing unnamed operators' real-world experience with telematics.

There is also a section listing just over two dozen suppliers. Not all are directly involved in telematics (some are software developers), but prose summaries indicate their specialities.

The £10 guide concludes that the number of existing telematics suppliers will probably fall over time, and the vehicle manufacturers will tend to supply the lion's share of the "out-of-the-box" market.