ELD (Electronic Logging Device)

An electronic logging device is a telematics unit hardwired to a truck's engine control module (ECM) that automatically captures when the vehicle is in motion, how long it's been driven, and the driver's duty status – driving, on-duty not driving, sleeper berth, or off-duty. The FMCSA's ELD mandate, fully enforced since December 2019, requires nearly all interstate commercial motor vehicle drivers to use an ELD in place of the paper logs that were standard for decades. The goal is straightforward: accurate, tamper-resistant hours of service records that improve road safety.

Beyond HOS compliance, ELDs generate a rich stream of location and status data. Most modern ELD platforms transmit GPS positions at regular intervals, report engine diagnostics, and can trigger geofence alerts when a truck enters or leaves a defined area. This data is enormously valuable to shippers – not just for compliance, but for real-time shipment tracking. When a TMS integrates with ELD data feeds, it can show live truck locations on a map, calculate dynamic ETAs based on actual position and speed, and flag delays as they happen rather than after a carrier calls in late.

For shippers, ELD integration solves one of the most persistent visibility gaps in freight: knowing where your truck actually is between pickup and delivery. Carriers have always had access to their own ELD data, but sharing it with shippers historically required manual check calls or logging into carrier portals one by one. Direct ELD integration – where the TMS pulls location data automatically from the ELD provider's API – eliminates that friction and delivers continuous tracking without any action from the carrier's dispatch team.

The practical benefit is proactive exception management. Instead of finding out a load is late when the consignee calls to complain, your team sees the delay developing in real time and can communicate with the customer, adjust dock appointments, or arrange recovery options before the problem escalates.