Trailer Tracking

Have you ever been sent on a trailer hunt? You know, you do what is supposed to be a drop and hook. You drop your loaded trailer and then you're supposed to pick up an empty. The problem is that there is no empty on site. You're told go over to company X and pick up an empty there. You get there and there is no empty available. You get sent to company Y. It keeps going until you finally find a trailer and you have wasted hours and driven miles. Trailer hunts could become a thing of the past.

Trailer tracking has been around awhile. It has been more prevalent in the temperature controlled side of trucking. It has been important to monitor temperatures and reefer performance. Trailer temperatures can be monitored and recorded remotely. It helps insure our safe food supply. If a reefer stops running, it can remotely report a problem back to a company and route the driver to a repair facility ASAP.

Costs of the units has gone down while the importance of driver efficiency has risen. Electronic enforcement of the 14 hour rule, makes it costly to waste a driver's time. In the past trailer hunts could be swept under the paper log. Wasting a driver's time effects everyone now. We have all seen the quotes that the industry is running at 95% of capacity. I have always thought that was a false number. That inefficiency has always been the hidden factor in capacity measurements.

For larger carriers the benefits are obvious. The sophistication of these devices has improved. They no longer just tell you where your trailer is. They can tell you if it is loaded. They can tell you within a few feet where the trailer is. Some can remotely monitor lights and tires. You will be able to tell if your driver has done a pre trip inspection. Is your customer using your trailer for storage? Is it being used for local shuttle operations without your knowledge? Trailer tracking can do a lot of things for the big carrier.

Small fleets and one truck owner operators can also benefit from trailer tracking technology. They can be a tracking device in case your trailer is ever stolen. You can't be with your trailer 24/7, but the tracking system is. Say, you're sitting at home and your trailer is parked at a remote location, and someone opens the trailer doors. Trailer tracking systems can alert you. You can check on your trailer, or have someone (law enforcement) check for you.

At this point, if you are not using some sort of trailer tracking device you are behind the curve. They can cost less than a trailer tire. It is time for all carriers to consider using some sort of trailer tracking technology.