2021

Fleet
Technology
TrendsReportFleet technology
drives results,
bolsters resilience
Technology adoption andbenefits show continued growth
in a year like no other.
COVID-19 forced fleets across industries to navigate
uncertainty and swiftly adapt to new ways ofoperating. And despite this uncertainty, 2020 saw
continued investment in fleet technology.
Beyond the standard benefits, fleet tracking helped
businesses address the year’s unique challenges,
such as social distancing, home garaging,coordinating scheduling and dispatch from remotelocations, and pivoting to remain efficient in the faceof schedule upheaval.
The Fleet Technology Trends Survey conducted forVerizon Connect by Bobit Business Media, publishersof leading trade publications such as AutomotiveFleet, Business Fleet, Government Fleet and Heavy
Duty Trucking, reported an increase of 8%—from64% in 2019 to 72% in 2020—in the number of fleets
using GPS fleet tracking technology.

Here are some of the key takeaways:• 96% of fleets using GPS fleet tracking software
found it beneficial.
• Customer service emerged as one of the key
areas of improvement for those who adopted fleet
tracking technology, with 54% reporting a marked
improvement in this key performance indicator(KPI). This is up 4% from last year.

2 | verizonconnect.com• 55% of survey respondents reported a negative
impact of the pandemic in 2020. However, that
did not stop fleets from experiencing remarkable
returns from investing in technology. 32% reported
a positive return on investment (ROI) in just six
months of implementing fleet tracking technology.
• For new technologies, in-cab video was the star.
35% of respondents said they used in-cab video,
which includes both front-facing and driver-facingcameras.
• In a time of economic and regulatory uncertainty,
keeping costs in check is vital for fleets. In fact,
44% of fleets rated increasing costs as a top
challenge to daily fleet operations. This is yet
another area where fleets are seeing a positive
impact from GPS fleet tracking: respondents
reported an average 8% decrease in fuel costs,
an 11% reduction in accident costs and a 10%
decrease in labor costs.

This report, based on surveys completed
by more than 700 U.S. fleet managers,
executives and other mobile-businessprofessionals, highlights the value fleet
businesses are achieving by investing infleet tracking technology.

The number of fleets using
GPS fleet tracking technology
has increased from 64%
in 2019 to 72% in 2020.
Fleet Technology Trends Survey
key takeaways

96%

of fleets using GPS fleet
tracking software foundit beneficial.

44%

rated increasing costs
as a top challenge todaily fleet operations.

GPS fleet tracking
respondents reported:

55%

reported a negative
impact from thepandemic in 2020.

An average
8% decreasein fuel costs

32%

reported a positive ROI
in just six months ofimplementing fleet
tracking technology.

11% decreasein accident
costs
Customer service
emerged as oneof the key areas ofimprovement.

In-cab video was
the hottest newtechnology trend.

10% decreasein labor costs

2021
2021 Fleet
Fleet Technology
Technology Trends
Trends Report
Report || 33Who responded
to the study?
Respondents by fleet size:

Respondents by job function:

50%

Small(1-49)

16%Enterprise(500+)34%

Fleet manager

31%

Executive

27%

Management

22%

Other

12%

Risk/safety

5%

Finance3%

Medium(50-499)

Respondents by industry:

20%

Groundtransportation

3%

Foodproduction or
distribution

6%

7%

Construction

Retail/Wholesale

3%

Other

16%

2%

Generalfreight

Utilities

6%

Manufacturing

Petroleum

14%

Government

4 | verizonconnect.com

18%

1%

Refuse orrecycling%
3Services

Who uses fleet
management systems?
Overall, 72% of all respondents currently use GPS
fleet tracking software, up from 64% in 2019.
While enterprise and medium-sized fleets lead theway in adoption rates, small fleets have increased
their rate of adoption by an impressive 12% over thelast year. This signals an upward trend on the valuethat businesses of all sizes place on GPSfleet tracking technology.

The average fleet size for all respondents
to the survey is 611 vehicles; these fleetsare composed of various vehicle types.

Use of GPS fleet trackingby business size:
2019

2020

100%

+10+880%+1260%

Trailers

214

Light-duty trucks

209

Heavy-duty trucks

198

Cars

150

Medium-duty trucks

116

Off-road equipment

78

40%

20%

0%

Smallfleets

MediumfleetsEnterprise
fleetsUse of GPS fleet tracking by industry:
Transportation

81%

Services77%

Government

68%

Construction

50%

Looking at the use of GPS fleet tracking by industry, it is not surprising that transportation continues
to lead the way in utilization. However, the services industry—followed by construction andgovernment – is quickly catching on. It's only a matter of time before more players in various industries
realize the true benefits of having an efficient technology toolbox.
2021 Fleet Technology Trends Report | 5

Does fleet tracking
technology impact ROI?
The answer is a resounding
yes. Across the board,the majority of survey
respondents noted:

Positive improvements afterimplementing GPS fleet tracking
20192020

Customer service• Increased improvements in critical areas,such as customer service, productivity androuting, as compared to last year.

+4
Productivity• Decreases in fuel consumption, accidents
and labor costs, which held steady at lastyear's percentages.

+1

A majority of respondents from the transportationand services industries indicated that they
achieved a positive ROI in less than a year after
implementing GPS fleet tracking. Over a third ofgovernment respondents noted ROI in less than ayear, and over a quarter of construction industry
respondents realized ROI in the same timeframe.

0%Timeframe to achieve
positive ROI:

Less thana year

One yearor more

59%
50%
36%
35%

21%
19%
26%
31%

Services
Transportation
Construction
Government

6 | verizonconnect.com

Routing

+3
10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

How technology empowers
a competitive edge
A majority of respondents across industries said GPS fleet tracking has had
a beneficial impact on their fleet operations—72% consider fleet tracking“very” or “extremely” beneficial.
Within the transportation industry, 62% of those currently using a GPS fleet
tracking solution realized improved customer service. This is terrific news
as many businesses are finding it crucial to focus on service and support inaddition to the quality of a product. Rising customer expectations and thegrowing influence of online reviews, increased technical complexity and acompetitive landscape can put pressure on even the best-run companies.
Other goals realized that can help give companies a leg up on thecompetition include ELD/regulatory compliance, improved routing,
improved productivity (including number of jobs and vehicle utilization)and improved vehicle maintenance.

Transportation industry
Goals achieved since implementing
GPS tracking:62%

Improved
customer service

49%
Improved
productivity

8 | verizonconnect.com

54%
Improved
compliance

50%
Improvedrouting41%

Improved vehicle
maintenanceIn the services industry, the majorityof respondents were also able to achieve
critical business goals.
Services industry
Goals achieved since implementing
GPS tracking:63%

Improved vehicle
maintenance53%

Decreased fuelconsumption

50%

Improved
customer service

80%

said they achieved improved
productivity in terms of number of jobs
and vehicle utilization, and 63% saw animprovement in vehicle maintenance.

2021 Fleet Technology Trends Report | 9

Video telematics delivers
tangible results
AI-backed video telematics with driver-facing
and road-facing cameras is reshaping safety
and efficiency for fleets. Fleet businesses areable to see how smart video can serve as anunbiased witness, an incomparable driver
training tool and a gold mine of data.
Of those using an in-cab video solution:• A whopping 83% achieved
improvements in driver safety.
• In the transportation industry, 74% ofrespondents considered in-cab video"very" or "extremely" beneficial.
• Over three-fourths were able to improve driversafety and protect themselves from false claims.

Goals achieved in the transportationindustry from implementing video:

Improved
driver safety

78%

Reducedfalse claims

76%

Reducedaccident costs

54%

Reducedinsurance costs

42%(Percentage of respondents)

For those in theservices industry
using in-cab video, 83%
improved driver safety.

In the government sector,
68% saw improved driversafety, and 65% improved theirorganizations' protection fromfalse claims.
68% consider in-cab video“extremely” or “very” beneficial.

In the construction industry,
57% credit in-cab video for
reduced accident costs andimproved driver safety.
43% also saw reduced
insurance costs.

2019 Fleet Tracking Trends Report | 7
2021 Fleet Technology Trends Report | 7

Undeniable
cost savings
According to our survey, 44% ofbusinesses said cost was one of
their biggest business challenges,
followed by lack of quality
technicians, and customer
demands at 40%. Users of fleet
tracking technology have shown
remarkable benefits in these andother KPIs.
Across all industries GPS tracking
users decreased fuel costs by anaverage of 8%. Users also saw anaverage decrease of 11% in accident
costs, and a decrease in overalllabor costs of 10%.

All industries

Transportation

Government

Construction

Services

Fuel cost
reduction

8%

10%

6%

8%

9%

Accident cost
reduction

11%

14%

7%

14%

8%

Labor cost
reduction

10%

9%

5%

10%

15%

In the transportation industry, 63% saw improved productivity
as a potential benefit of GPS fleet tracking technology.
50% saw better customer service and improved routing as
potential benefits. Timely vehicle maintenance and reduction
in labor cost were the other expected benefits with nearly
40% reporting positive trends in these areas.

10 | verizonconnect.com

Methodology

The bottom line
Building a resilient business is more important now than everbefore. Use these data points to make long-term purposefuldecisions that will help your fleet withstand the complex businessenvironment or any other emergency in the future.
Fleet tracking technology goes beyond just dots on a map.
It gives fleet managers much-needed visibility into driver
behaviors, fleet costs and vehicle wear and tear. Withdashboards and customizable reports, you can check thepulse of your business at any point in time.

Conducted by Bobit BusinessMedia for Verizon Connect, thisstudy aims to dive deeper into
the understanding and adoptionof GPS fleet tracking systems
and other related technologies.
An email invitation toparticipate in an online survey
was sent to those in the
Automotive Fleet, Business
Fleet, Work Truck, Government
Fleet, Fleet Financials, Business
Fleet, Metro, LimosForSale andHDT (Heavy Duty Trucking)databases. A total of 726responses (467 completedand 259 partially completedsurveys) were collected
between August 14 and
September 11, 2020.

2021 Fleet Technology Trends Report | 11

AboutVerizon Connect
Verizon Connect is guiding a connected worldon the go by automating, enhancing andrevolutionizing the way people, vehicles andthings move through the world. Our full suiteof industry-defining solutions and services
puts innovation, automation and connected
data to work for customers and helps thembe safer, more efficient and more productive.

Connect your fleet. Call 866.844.2235 orvisit verizonconnect.com to learn about ourpowerful, easy-to-use fleet solutions forbusinesses of all sizes.