Annual revenue growth in Automatic Vehicle Location services for commercial vehicle fleets is forecast to grow from $500 million last year to $1 billion by 2004, largely because of adoption by private fleets.

That is among the findings of a study by Washington, D.C.-based The Strategis Group.
The long-haul for-hire trucking industry, an early adopter of AVL technology, has become a "significant" user of the AVL services, the study found. However, the findings predict slowing growth in that segment.
Future growth in AVL services is expected to come mainly from private fleets that operate locally - within about 100 miles of their base. Presently, only about 2% of this segment is using AVL, revealed the study.
The research identified GPS (Global Positioning System) as the positioning technology of choice in current Automatic Vehicle Location systems. GPS is a satellite system developed to provide accurate positions anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day.
The cost per unit of AVL "will lower significantly from a current range of $500-$4,000," the study forecast, and this decrease will spur wider adoption of AVL technology by private fleets.