Despite tough times for trucking, fleets are increasing their spend on transportation- and communication-related technology.

So says the 2010 truckIT Report by a U.K.-based research and trade show company which specializes in events for the supply chain and logistics industry

The annual CIO and fleet director survey by eyefortransport notes that while fleet executives continue to look for ways to cut costs, investment in new technology has continued to grow, perhaps because “these new technologies… offer the most direct way for companies to cut costs and continue to prosper under harsh economic conditions.”

According to the authors of the report, “IT budgets continue to increase, interest in the newest technologies remains strong and, more than ever, technologies offer greater ROI.”

The survey was conducted in March and April of this year with senior executives of major for-hire and private carrier fleets, as well as I.T. solution providers.

Of the fleet operators surveyed, 36% said they are increasing their use of tablet computers, especially for driver communication (19%), driver electronic logs (17%), freight bill management (16%), and dock information management (14%).

While tablets are still considered a relatively recent phenomenon, accounting for low adoption rates, that is likely to improve as increasingly strict cell phone bans come into effect.

The main benefits for deploying mobile applications included increased worker productivity (49%) and customer satisfaction (39%). Only 14% of respondents saw no benefit from employing mobile applications.

On the EOBR front, 27% of fleet operators have installed them in their vehicles, while a further 21% are currently installing them, and 20% are waiting for regulation to pass before installing them, another indicator of spending timidity by fleet operators at the moment.

“While there is no question the industry has been challenged by several hurdles, these barriers have put technology at the forefront of fleet operators’ toolboxes,” the report concludes. ‘Confronted with access to more information than ever before, new regulations, high fuel prices, and a turbulent economy, fuelling the development of technology solutions, fleet operators can now see potential where disaster loomed.”