NZ Construction Industry Trends Match Global Pattern

New Zealand Construction Industry Trends Match the Global Pattern

Auckland, New Zealand, 15 November 2018 – Increasing demand for services is putting pressure on talent acquisition, with construction companies turning to technology to forecast hiring, manage costs, and grow revenue. This finding comes from Teletrac Navman’s second annual Telematics Benchmark Report: Global Construction Edition.

The construction industry is expected to grow at 4.2 per cent from 2018 to 20231, and to be worth $15.5 trillion2 globally by 2030.

Despite growing demand for services, Teletrac Navman research reveals that construction businesses around the world are facing several challenges. Managing costs (49%) remains the industry’s biggest challenge. However, issues around finding, retaining and developing talent have grown significantly from last year, with more than a third (35%) of businesses affected globally, up 13 per cent on 2017.

The industry’s growing focus on risk management and compliance has also resulted in more respondents facing challenges around minimising vehicle/driver incidents (23%), up 6 per cent; managing risk (21%), up 7 per cent; and regulatory changes (17%), up 10 per cent.

Over half of respondents (59%) said they expect to grow fleet sizes next year to cope with rising demand for services (56%).

The survey also revealed the extent of the current labour shortage, technology disruption, and economic optimism, in addition to several other key trends.

Rising global demand is leading to labour shortages and higher costs, with payroll dominating company expenses as firms increase pay and offer greater benefits to attract talent

• Finding, retaining and developing talent is the biggest planned business investment (42%), with just under half (49%) saying that increasing material and labour costs was their biggest concern.

• Organisations are addressing the labour shortage by increasing pay (50%), offering better benefits (35%), and providing flexible working arrangements (29%).

Construction firms are turning to technology to manage issues, improve efficiency and results

• After talent, upgrading fleets (37%), integrating technologies and systems (33%), installing more efficient GPS tracking (26%), and implementing technology for regulatory compliance (22%) are key investment priorities in the year ahead.

• More than three quarters (79%) of respondents are using telematics, with 55 per cent reporting fuel savings as a result (12% fuel saved on average).

• The reasons for deploying telematics include: vehicle/equipment tracking (76%); tracking speed (62%); hours driven (58%); and distance (47%). Reducing idling (39%) and fuel usage (32%) were also key drivers.

Early adopters are reaping rewards, with a range of benefits from fleet management technology

• The top reported benefits of telematics included: peace of mind/knowing where vehicles are (57%); improved driver behaviour (34%); more efficient routing (24%); and cost savings (19%).

• Construction firms have also already embraced mobile technology, with 58 per cent of businesses offering it to their drivers, operators, and fleet managers to enable more direct communication (57%); easier fleet tracking (48%); and easier reporting (46%).

Commenting on the findings, James French, Construction Construction Industry Specialist, Teletrac Navman, said: “The construction industry has long faced pressures to do more with less, while also ensuring the safety of its workers and profitability of the business. Firms also reported a notable upswing on 2017 in facing challenges around regulatory requirements and compliance. We’re committed to supporting the industry by helping them understand and navigate these market shifts.”

The full report can be found at: Telematics Benchmark Report: Global Construction Edition

Survey Methodology

The 2018 Teletrac Navman Telematics Benchmark Report is based on a survey of more than 2,400 fleet operations and fleet management professionals from around the world. Of the total survey respondents, 646 indicated that their primary industry was construction, mining or oil and gas. This includes over 120 from New Zealand and Australia. The results described in the 2018 Telematics Benchmark Survey: Global Construction Edition, were compiled from those respondents

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About Teletrac Navman

Teletrac Navman is a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider leveraging location-based technology and services for managing mobile assets. With specialised solutions that deliver greater visibility into real-time insights and analytics, Teletrac Navman helps companies make better business decisions that enhance productivity and profitability. Its fleet and asset management technology uncovers information that would otherwise go unseen, helping customers reduce risk and confidently move their business forward with certainty. It tracks and manages more than 550,000 vehicles and assets for more than 40,000 companies around the world. The company is headquartered in Glenview, IL, with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. For more information visit teletracnavman.com.

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