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Fact #371: May 9, 2005
Electronic Features on Heavy Trucks

The latest Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey asked truck owners if the truck had certain features as permanent equipment on the truck. Some of the features asked about were onboard computers, idle-reduction devices, navigational systems, and Internet access. Of the 2.3 million heavy trucks (class 7 and 8) in the Untied States, nearly 10% were equipped with onboard computers that had communication capabilities, and another 5% had onboard computers without communication capabilities. Six percent of heavy trucks were equipped with idle-reducing technology. Navigational systems and Internet access were available in less than 1% of heavy trucks.

Share of Heavy Trucks with Selected Electronic Features, 2002
Graph showing the share of heavy trucks with selected electronic features in 2002.

Note: Heavy trucks (class 7 and 8) are >26,000 lb gross vehicle weight (GVW) based on manufacturer's GVW rating.

Supporting Information

Share of Heavy Trucks (Class 7 and 8)
with Selected Electronic Features, 2002
  Share of Heavy Trucks with These Features
Internet access 0.5%
Navigational system 0.7%
Trip recorder or onboard computer WITHOUT communication capabilities 5.5%
Idle-reducing technology 6.0%
Trip recorder or onboard computer WITH communication capabilities 9.6%

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, "2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey," Microdata file, January 2005.
Data generated by Stacy Davis, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 2005

 

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