Tech Gains Lure Flatbed Fleets to Experiment With New Units

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>Indifference to trailer tracking by flatbed-fleet managers may be cracking, at least a little. A Texas-based carrier said it would outfit its fleet with the devices, and technology vendors said they see the sector as an open market.

Trailer-tracking technology was born in the 1990s and has grown in popularity among dry-van fleets because of post-9/11 security needs. It could grow even faster, depending on the effects of the new federal driver hours-of-service rules that went into effect in January.

However, technological difficulties and the peculiarities of flatbed operations have kept those carriers from fully embracing the technology.