iTECH: Trailer Tracking Looks for Applications in Intermodal, LTL

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nowing where their trailers are at any given moment is increasingly important for a growing number of freight lines in an age of heightened security, just-in-time delivery, intense competition and movements across various modes of transport.

Trailer tracking is considered primarily a truckload application, but the same technology is spreading in intermodal freight.

Great Dane Trailers now equips close to 75% of new intermodal trailers with original equipment manufacturer tracking units at customer request, according to spokeswoman Brandy Fuller. She said carriers are no longer testing the technology; rather, they are jumping into it “full force.”

Cargo containers also are candidates for tracking, but the technology is limited by battery life. Unlike trailers, cargo containers are not customarily hooked to a tractor power source, so recharging batteries remains an issue. Solar power and other advanced technologies hold promise here.

This article appeared in the February/March edition of TT's iTECH supplement. For the full story, see the Feb. 21 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.