A new Confidence Report issued by Trucking Efficiency has indicated automated manual transmissions are “ready for prime time” and can deliver fuel savings of 1-3% over manual transmissions.

They also have the potential to reduce driver turnover and lower recruiting and training costs, the report found.

Executives from 19 large fleets were interviewed for the report. They unanimously indicated drivers did not initially like the automated manual transmissions but later agreed the technology had a positive impact on their work life.

The same report found most fleets are taking a wait and see approach to fully automatic transmissions and have less experience with these products.

Trucking Efficiency developed a number of tools to help fleets determine whether or not automated manual transmissions will deliver benefits for them. These include: a Comparison Chart, showing the features of the various electronically controlled transmissions currently on the market; a Payback Calculator that compares several situations and equipment selections so a fleet can enter its own data and determine a ROI; and a Confidence Matrix that shows the study team’s confidence in the technology being studied vs the payback a fleet should expect to see.

You can read the full report here.