It seems that every day there’s another way for the Internet to make trucking more efficient. Lockheed Martin IMS, the company that offers the PrePass weigh station preclearance service, says it is developing an Internet-based system that takes time and labor out of registration, permitting and fuel tax compliance.

Lockheed’s MVS Express offers states a way to set up Internet-based accounts for truckers to enter their data, apply for credentials and link up with multiple agencies and states. It amounts to online one-stop shopping for the dozens of records and credentials that are needed to keep trucks legal.
Some 25 state transportation departments already use Lockheed’s non-Internet carrier compliance services. The first state to sign on to the Internet service is Montana, which is installing online permitting for oversize and overweight trucks.
Dave Galt, administrator of motor carrier services at the Montana Department of Transportation, said he is looking for ways to provide 24-hour, 7-day service to truckers without increasing his operating costs.
“There is no way we can hire people to do what the Internet can do for us,” he said.
MVS Express will move him in that direction, he said. For example, he expects the system to take the labor out of issuing ordinary permits. “I’m looking for a system that will automate the details,” he said. “My goal is to go paperless on ordinary permits.”
He expects online permitting to be available by June or July next year.
The Internet service also is under consideration in Virginia, which is testing online renewals for the International Registration Plan, according to a Lockheed spokesman.