What is Truck-Specific Routing: Dimensions, Weight, and Regulations

One of our clients recently shared a story about a heavy-haul logistics transport from Houston to Denver.

The Case: It was a 40-ton industrial turbine on a Class 8 truck, reaching a height of approx. 15 ft combined with the load. 

Logic & Implementation: The details were entered on the routing platform with required settings about tolls and highways. The tool immediately applied the truck-specific logic to avoid restricted roads, tunnels, and low-clearance areas of Amarillo, TX (US-287/I-40 corridor), and the Denver, CO, metropolitan area, such as Sheridan Blvd., Bridgton Blvd., 6th Ave., and others. 

Routing Assistance: The Distance Matrix API computed the travel time with truck speed profiles, legal routes (hard constraint), real-time traffic, etc. NextBillion generated an optimized route plan with an accurate ETA. Once the journey started, it provided turn-by-turn navigation with essential alerts to keep the driver careful. 

Success: NextBillion continuously monitored the truck throughout its journey. When it reached near the highway crossing at Claude, the driver encountered unexpected traffic due to an accident. A request was raised by the driver to re-route the path through the US-207 highway, but our system immediately alerted us to not change the route, as it was not permissible.

Alternate/Re-routing: In a similar case, NextBillion introspected delays due to traffic rush and seasonal halts on US-287 around Wichita Falls. It re-routed the trucks on the I-35 towards the north to Oklahoma City and then turned west on the I-40 to rejoin US-287 at Amarillo 

The API solutions for truck-specific routing

NextBillion.ai is an AI-powered and advanced route optimization API that directly integrates with the FMS, TMS, or telematics systems. It offers a long list of API products that serve specific purposes in the entire delivery process. 

The tool strategically manages standard deliveries with highly efficient routes that ensure task completion within the schedule. And at the same time, it also dynamically analyzes truck-aware routing to cancel out non-compliant and inconceivable routes and discover a path that is trouble-free and secure.

Below is a brief discussion on route optimization tools. 

Route Optimization API: It is the pathfinder for delivery vehicles tasked to transport goods to a single or multiple locations. Route planning for long-haul trucks is a critical job and requires perfect assessment of road networks that connect for swift movement of vehicles. 

NextBillion route optimization realizes the VRP issues in medium-sized goods delivery vehicles and truck-specific routing. Trucks are larger in size and face several restrictions due to transit regulations and physical characteristics. The preference in  truck routing is not the cost efficiency but an accurate direction that serves movement without hindrance. 

The tool ensures proper assistance on the route. For example, alternate paths instead of U-turns avoid low clearance to secure the truck and goods or avoid toll routes when an alternate and legal path can be taken which is cost-effective and does not impact the travelling time much.

Driver Assignment API: It holds the complete profile of drivers attached to the logistics and transport agency and connects a delivery order to an appropriate person. It filters out drivers’ profiles based on driving skills, past assignments in the specific goods category, experience on the route, availability at the pickup location, or shifts. 

It also allows drivers to take back-to-back assignments by choice, which is an additional filtering option. The cost function works accurately to fetch the most suitable match of orders with vehicles and drivers. You can also request a backup option or transfer the shift to another driver in the middle of the journey at a specific location.

Clustering API: It favors upstream facilitation when the truck manages delivery orders in multiple locations. The tool helps in grouping a bulk of delivery orders into small or large segments and liberates the large trucks carrying goods from entering urban settings.

The dispatch manager can generate clusters of orders, and the truck can drop the orders on the given point. From there, small vans can take over the charge of distribution to the locations identified in the clustered region. 

On the other side, it would also answer the question of arranging the number of mini delivery vans at each cluster since the actual drop load is pre-calculated.

Directions API: Its purpose is to provide directions between two specific points on the map and support key features that make the ride hustle-free. The Directions API fulfills the typical requirements of truck-specific routing by analyzing factors like weight, dimensions, or axle limits; cargo type; hazmat; and other constraints.

It analyzes real-time traffic conditions to predict accurate ETAs and finds out the route that is compliant, safe, and avoids road segments on specific maneuvers like U-turns, tolls, low-clearance bridges, etc. ETAs and ETDs are essentially considered while routing or optimizing the route plans for long-haul trucks. They clearly impact routing in logistics and transport.

Distance Matrix API: It is a powerful tool for calculating traveling time and distance across many-to-many locations as origin and destination. You can add parameters like the vehicle’s dimensions, weight, goods category, etc., along with specific constraints and optimization strategies. It helps in determining the movement costs in each route segment that particularly applies truck-specific routing rules instead of standard car-based route optimization.

Snap to Roads API: It has an important role in analyzing the road network and information, which is not shown on the maps. These details are revealed at first-hand by the transport staff who have traversed through the specific road segments in the past delivery orders. 

The tool snaps the landmarks in a series during the task completion via a particular route. It is useful for truck-specific routing to find out speed limits and regulations in each road segment. In case of avoiding bridges, tolls, highways, or other obstructing infrastructures specific to the load and vehicle, this API quickly suggests other alternative options.

Isochrone API: It has the capacity to compute travel time and distance between locations and showcase points that can be reached within a similar timeframe or equal distance from the origin. Dispatchers of large trucks can use it to generate routes that can be chosen while avoiding non-compliant, obstructive, or inefficient routes.

Navigation API:

NextBillion provides a turn-by-turn navigation facility to the truck drivers. The tool follows the optimized route plan, and depending upon the integration of an API or SDK solution, you can also enable an interactive route visualization facility on their digital device.

Route Report API: It is the information center for logistics and transport companies. The entire report of the past delivery tasks can be extracted using this tool to know the speed limits, distance, or countrywise/statewise information related to particular road segments covered in the trip. 

For truck-specific routing you can check the number of tolls, overhead bridges, tunnels, etc., or review the past assignments to improvise on the mistakes done by the delivery drivers in the past. 

Batch Routing API: It is useful for large-sized logistics and transport companies with a number of long-haul trucks to manage deliveries. This tool allows multiple routing requests with the same constraints.

Live Tracking API: It facilitates the dispatch assistants to monitor the movement of the trucks in real time. You can integrate the API or SDK option and get live updates about all the vehicles in the field. While it alerts the managers when the driver detours to a forbidden route knowingly/unknowingly, the tracking system also modifies itself to the reoptimized route. 

NextBillion supports real-time deviation alerts, which strengthens the routing compliances. Read what they are and why every fleet needs them.

Geofence API: It enables the creation of a virtual boundary to confine the movement of delivery trucks from origin to destination. The process to wall the route is easier with additions on the digital map. It automatically notifies the dispatch department once the vehicle crosses the boundary.

Route Reconstruction API: It uses the digital route map to redraw the entire trip taken by a long-haul truck on its journey to the delivery location. Reconstruction of past trips can help in truck-specific routing to cancel out trouble-pron regions by reviewing the issues faced due to infrastructure, traffic, road segments, etc.

Route Dispatch API: It enables the dispatch team to directly share the route plan with the delivery drivers of the trucks, directly on their digital devices. Along with that, you may also attach critical instructions, such as strictly avoid a certain road segment, be careful on a particular turn, etc.

Documents API: You can create a form template using the tool, and this can be produced for digital signature by the delivery agent to the receiving end. These templates, letters, or other documents can be attached to the dispatch plan and are useful for the truck drivers in resolving compliance issues related to load, vehicle, or restricted entry.

Maps API: You can use the API to make the digital route map more informative. It has advanced Vector Tiles, Raster Tiles, and Static Image functions to enhance truck routing. You can add static maps that are helpful in low network areas. Add images of places like overpasses or U-turns at the particular latitude and longitude, which helps drivers to move carefully. You can also name the roads or landmarks and mark restricted zones to keep the driver away from them.

Road Segment API: It has credible usage in fetching critical information of each road segment covered as requested on the digital map. Details like speed limits, weight limits, commercial timings, tolls, low clearance, etc. can be easily extracted using this tool.

Road Editor API: It enables adding instructions directly on the digital route map. You can set captions at specific locations like “Check your speed,” “14 ft overhead pass, go slow,” “Checkpoint ahead,” etc. It warns the truck drivers before they actually face the trouble.

Traffic Incidents API: It is a powerful API solution that works in real-time to gather details about the traffic conditions in any specific area on the route. It analyzes the current conditions and lists down all the incidents, such as road closure, accidents, seasonal rush, etc., with a reason behind each. Truck drivers can rely on this to alter their routes when an alert is raised by the API and choose a suitable one that is safe, open, and compliant. 

Weather API: It is an important tool for logistics and transportation businesses because along with physical conditions, the local weather can significantly impact the movability of vehicles on the road. Local delivery managers can practically observe the weather and alter their plans accordingly, but truck routing is a strenuous task as they carry large quantities of goods, machines, hazmat, and other critical elements that pose handling risks. Long-haul trucks require permissible routes and cannot take sudden turns. Preemption of weather conditions helps generate more feasible route plans during truck-specific routing.

Places API: It is capable of extracting the exact location on the map from an incomplete address. The dispatch managers can look up places around a specific point, find coordinates, get postal codes, search for POIs, and also get auto-suggestions that complete the semi-known locations.