Telemetry Report Says Automated Trucking Scale Will Depend on Factory Integration

Telemetry has released a new research report, “Automated Trucks Should Be Built in a

Factory,” examining what it will take for automated trucking to move from limited deployments to repeatable, commercial-scale operations. The report was prepared by Sam Abuelsamid, Telemetry’s vice president of market research, and focuses on Level 4 automated systems for heavy-duty trucks.

“Automated trucking has a credible commercial path, but scaling it depends on industrial discipline,” said Abuelsamid. “The companies that succeed will pair strong automated driving system (ADS) performance with factory manufacturing integration, validation and after-sales support systems that fleets can actually operate against.”

Telemetry’s main finding is that automated trucking is no longer just a vehicle software issue, but also involves questions about manufacturing, validation and service. While retrofit systems have helped the industry develop and test technology, the report argues that large-scale deployment will depend on factory-level integration with truck OEMs and suppliers.

The report details why. Long-haul trucks operating at highway speeds and high gross vehicle weights require redundant sensing, compute and actuation systems, including backup power and safety computers capable of handling failures. These are safety-critical systems that must be designed and validated as part of the vehicle platform, not added later as an aftermarket package.

The report also connects that technical requirement to market economics. Automated trucking remains one of the stronger near-term ADS use cases because fleets face rising costs, driver shortages and the need to improve asset utilization. At the same time, Telemetry notes that sustainable deployment will require recurring revenue models, reliable maintenance and nationwide service support.

To download the “Automated Trucks Should Be Built in a Factory" report, go to https://www.telemetryagency.com/automatedtrucking.