The Times They Are A Changin’
It’s been 51 years since Bob Dylan’s anthem to a generation was released as an LP (not an eight-track, cassette, CD or a download). LPs are so old that they now — of course — are coming back in style. In our industry, the times are definitely a changin’ and the rate of change is unlike anything I have seen in my 35 years in the trucking industry.
When I first started in the trucking industry, buying a truck was pretty simple. Pick an engine, chassis and transmission. Those were what some people affectionately refer to as the “old days.” Well, now, as you have seen with our new power units, we have an incredible number of options: diesel/LNG/CNG, safety features, in-cab technology, video and automatic or manual.
Think about this information that was recently published in the New York Times: The Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, has about 50 million lines of computer code. Facebook is powered by about 60 million lines of code. Today’s Class 8 truck with advanced safety features and emissions reduction technology has more than 100 million lines of code.
During my first years in LTL, delivering a shipment was also pretty straightforward. Pick it up and deliver it, safely and with excellent service. While safety and service remain the foundation of our industry, we now have advanced technology, from handheld units for our drivers to dimensioners on our docks where laser precision assessments are made on shipments, instantly and with virtually no error.
Now we have a convergence of the interstate highway and the information super highway. The rush of technology into the cab and every element of our business has added a dynamic element to the trucking industry, an element of change that might hold part of the solution for the shortage of drivers, mechanics and other critical personnel to keep our nation’s commerce moving.
We have an industry that is full of opportunity, where technology can attract new talent and invigorate us with the next generation of employees.
James Welch, CEO, YRC Worldwide