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1.0 Introduction, Background, and Methods

1.1 Objective

The purpose of this Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) report is to provide motor carriers and other industry stakeholders with an executive-level, summary description of the benefits and costs of CVISN deployment. The report is intended to help motor carriers and others involved in commercial vehicle operations (CVO) make informed decisions on adoption of CVISN technologies.

The objective of this report is to summarize the findings of two recent, related business cases that have been developed to facilitate further deployment of CVISN technologies:

The intended audience includes decision-makers at motor carrier companies (especially larger for-hire and private carriers) and other public- and private-sector stakeholders, such as State transportation officials, private service bureaus, or credentialing brokers, who are interested in CVO. This summary business case presents actual costs, monetized benefits, and qualitative outcomes associated with CVISN technology deployment.

While the two reports cited above are similar in their topic, they differ in their areas of focus. The 2006 report is based on interviews with State government officials and representatives of State trucking associations (industry trade groups). It presents more qualitative perspectives, and focuses on how CVISN is being deployed by the States, especially with respect to how State programs affect the motor carrier industry. The 2007 report, by contrast, is based on interviews with individual for-profit motor carrier companies, both those involved with CVISN and those that are not involved. The 2007 report is more quantitative, reporting actual costs incurred and benefits achieved by motor carriers who have deployed CVISN technologies. The report examines the life-cycle benefits and costs of CVISN deployment, and presents annual and 10-year net benefits estimates as well as carrier return on investment ratios.

This combined summary report synthesizes and presents the highlights of both business case reports, with the purpose of making available a brief, high-level, overview of the findings. Further detail, methodology, and analysis can be found in the two separate business case reports.

This summary report is organized into six sections, as follows:

  1. Introduction, Background, and Methods
  2. Perceived Barriers and Limitations to Deployment of CVISN Technologies
  3. Qualitative Benefits of CVISN
  4. Economic Analysis of CVISN Technology Adoption
  5. Implications for the Motor Carrier Industry, States, and CVO in General
  6. References.

1.2 The CVISN Program

The CVISN program, being led by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), represents the collection of State, Federal, and private-sector information systems and communications networks that support CVO. CVISN deployment, which was formalized in the mid-1990s, provides a technical framework for electronically collecting and exchanging motor carrier safety and interstate registration and tax payment information and for making that information available at the roadside.

As of August 2007, 18 States have completed deployment of CVISN Core Capabilities and are pursuing Expanded CVISN deployment. [Core Capabilities were formerly known as Level 1 deployment, defined in the Introductory Guide to CVISN (FMCSA 2000)]. Many other States (27) are actively implementing portions of the Core Deployment program, and five states are in the planning and design phase of their work toward Core Deployment. The extent of deployment varies from State to State and from technology to technology. Figure 1 illustrates CVISN program status by State.

Figure 1. Core CVISN deployment status. Map of the U.S., showing that 18 states have completed core deployment and are working on expanded CVISN. These states are predominantly in the West, Northwest, and mid-Atlantic/Midwest. Another 27 states and DC are actively working toward achieving core deployment, while the remaining five states are in the planning and design stages.

Figure 1.  Core CVISN deployment status
(source:  Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)

The CVISN program has deployed information systems to support implementation of a set of core capabilities in three areas:

These three capabilities rely mainly on State agencies to develop and deploy hardware, software, and network systems, and use these technologies in day-to-day operations and enforcement. To their credit, States have made significant progress in implementing CVISN core capabilities. This summary business case is intended to complement the States' efforts by increasing motor carriers' awareness of the economic benefits of participation in the electronic services available as a result of the CVISN program. Numerous benefits of CVISN depend on wider adoption of the technologies. FMCSA is interested in documenting the business benefits for motor carriers.

The two major components of CVISN that are most applicable to motor carrier profitability are electronic credentialing and electronic screening. These two CVISN functions will be the focus of the economic analysis within this summary business case. The benefits of safety information exchange, especially among State government stakeholders, will also be discussed.

1.3 Methodology

A major focus of this summary report is to synthesize the results of two information collection tasks that gathered hard data and stakeholder opinions toward CVISN. Data were collected from motor carriers, State safety and transportation officials, and professional trucking industry associations. Two approaches were used to collect these data.

The 2006 FHWA report was designed to "qualitatively demonstrate the benefits to motor carriers of an advanced CVISN infrastructure." Researchers interviewed 15 State CVISN officials in ten States, private trucking association representatives from five States, and two national trucking association executives as part of their effort. The 2006 report also included material from a review of relevant literature since 1996 and information from the State CVISN self-evaluation reporting process.

For the 2007 FHWA report, motor carriers were contacted directly. Carriers were asked a series of questions designed to collect information on their opinions concerning the effectiveness of CVISN and quantitative information about any specific costs and benefits their company has observed, relative to CVISN deployment. If a carrier had not deployed any CVISN technologies in its business, then callers asked about general awareness of CVISN, and any perceived barriers to deployment. Researchers used telephone and e-mail methods to contact 272 carriers and service bureaus, resulting in 38 completed surveys (for a response rate of approximately 14 percent). All companies operated across State lines. All data collectors used a single interview guide as a script for the phone interviews, and pilot-tested the interview guide in advance.

The primary sources of carrier company contacts for the calling lists were (a) motor carriers in the Federally sponsored Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) census file and (b) industry-proprietary, geographically representative lists that were derived from States with active CVISN programs and also reflected carriers that are active on State or national trucking associations' "tax and registration" committees.

Carriers chosen from the MCMIS database represented those that were shown to be operating more than 20 power units. The 20-truck minimum company size was chosen because it was thought that these larger carriers would be more likely to (a) have staff dedicated to the credentials and safety/screening functions affected by CVISN, (b) have staff available to participate in telephone interviews, and (c) have deployed some aspect of CVISN, which represented the main target population for the survey. The vast majority of motor carrier companies operate very few trucks; however, the top 20 percent of U.S. carriers by company size are responsible for approximately 80 of all drivers, trailers, and tonnage in the industry (Murray 2007).

Figure 2 summarizes the characteristics of the motor carriers surveyed for the 2007 study. The numbers of States the carriers operate in ranged from 7 to 50, with most carriers reporting 48 States. The vast majority of carriers were for-hire, as opposed to private (company-dedicated) carriers. Fifteen respondents were primarily truckload (TL) carriers; eight were less-than-truckload (LTL), and 11 reported carrying both kinds of loads. Most respondents used dry freight vans most commonly, followed by refrigerated vans and straight trucks. Other trailer types were reported much less frequently. Carriers in this population reported being responsible for between 22 and 90,000 power units, including company-owned, leased, and owner-operator power units.

The data collected from these carriers were analyzed using an economic model to project life-cycle costs and benefits, and to compare these two values to yield an estimated return on investment for motor carrier companies that choose to adopt CVISN technologies. Findings from the telephone survey were also supplemented by a review of the recent literature on the economic feasibility of CVISN deployment.

Figure 2. Bar charts showing frequency distribution of characteristics of surveyed motor carriers.

Figure 2.  Characteristics of surveyed motor carriers

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