10.1 million fleet management systems will reach Americas by 2017

According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America was 3.3 million in Q4-2012. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6 percent, this number is expected to reach 6.8 million by 2017.

In Latin America, the number of installed fleet management systems is expected to increase from 1.6 million in Q4-2012, growing at a CAGR of 16.3 percent to reach 3.3 million in 2017. The top ten providers of fleet management systems in the Americas now have a combined installed base of more than 2 million active units in the region. Leading solution providers including Omnitracs, Trimble, Fleetmatics, Zonar Systems and Telogis have more than 200,000 active units each. Customised high-end systems are most commonly offered via consultative direct sales processes, while standardised solutions to an increasing extent are offered through indirect models based on resellers. Mobile carriers have for example become an increasingly important sales channel in the Americas.

Regulations related to road transport have a significant impact on the market environment and there have been new developments in the past year. “The US hours-of-service rules have recently been updated and a mandate to use electronic logging devices has now been passed”, said Rickard Andersson, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. The implementation of mandatory tracking systems in Brazil which has been postponed several times is moreover expected to launch in 2014 and gradually introduce factory-installation of telematics devices in vehicles. “While these regulatory initiatives are limited to specific markets, vehicles, companies and functionalities, there is no question about the positive effect on the awareness of vehicle telematics in the Americas”, concluded Mr. Andersson.

The past years have seen considerable consolidation in the fleet management industry and a number of transactions have been done. Trimble has for example acquired several providers of complementary solutions, thereby widening its scope especially in the transportation and logistics sector. Most recently, the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners acquired the market leader Omnitracs’ Americas business from Qualcomm which pioneered this industry 25 years ago. The industry however remains overcrowded and further mergers and acquisitions are expected in the upcoming years. Berg Insight anticipates a future scenario where the global fleet management market is dominated by a handful of providers with installed bases measured in millions.

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Source: Berg Insight