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Many years ago, there was a campaign by the trucking industry which involved slapping large decals on the backs of trucks that said things like "this truck pays $5,678 per year in road use taxes." Remember it? I do. Its absence in recent years makes me think that either (a) it did not achieve the desired result (who knows what that sought result was) or (b) as a component of trucking costs, road use taxes have taken a back seat.

In the not so distant past, we have seen trucks adorned with all sorts of fairings and doodads to reduce wind resistance and improve mileage. Now, with fuel prices low, it is common to see trucks with "trailer tales" furled as they go down the highway--they are not even bothering to take a couple of minutes to put them in functioning order. By the way, are you still paying fuel surcharges? Why?

The consistent theme in trucking company worries, however, is the shortage of drivers. Many trucks are adorned with signs suggesting you go to work for them, they have the best pay packages, no dead head miles, home weekends and so forth. The experience level of the drivers these desperate companies hire reflects the dire shortage of skilled drivers. One of the latest examples of this is the Christmas Day collapse of a bridge rated for 8 tons in Paoli, Indiana. This truck and load were at about six times the posted weight limit of the bridge.

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So, where will we see automation next? Driverless trucks. They are less than five years away, folks. You can take it to the bank. The question is, will you be ready for them in your mill? I see the largest adjustment to be made being that at the termination points. How will you receive driverless trucks? How will they be handled on your site (marshalling yards, loading docks, weighing in and out)? In the popular press, all you see is the ramifications of having them on the highways. The kinky details are on either end of the trip.

You will adjust to this. The reduction in costs of removing drivers and having trucks that can run from one end of a route to the other without stopping except for fuel (how will they do that?) is going to bring such a cost savings that you will get on board with the idea.

Who will be fighting this, besides truck drivers? Railroads. Eliminate the drivers and schedule point to point delivery without stopping will put the railroads in a bind on cost and schedule. Maybe I should take revise my statement--the technology will be ready in five years but the affected parties will fight it for some time longer than that.

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Nevertheless, driverless trucks are coming and coming sooner than you think.

Speaking of thinking, what do you think? What is your guess as to when widespread use of driverless trucks will arrive? Take our quiz this week to register your thoughts.

For safety this week, why in the world do trucks not have cameras that continuously monitor the sides and rear of the trucks for obstacles? Relying on mirrors, an invention thousands of years old, when $500 worth of cameras would do a superior job is simply negligence on the part of the trucking companies. You, the purchaser of trucking services, should demand this for the good of safety everywhere.

Be safe and we will talk next week.

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