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11/27/2006 Where’s My Trailer?
In the trucking industry, that question is unfortunately not a rare one. Trailers become “lost in the system” for any number of reasons ranging from outright theft to erroneous movement or parking by drivers, subcontractors and shippers. Trucking companies are often forced to devote considerable resources to locating missing trailers. Lost trailers cost money, not only in revenue not generated, but because insurance, fees, and taxes must still be paid even while the trailers are unavailable.
In the post-9/11 world however, lost trailers represent far more than just lost income for a motor carrier. They are a security threat that can be used both to transport destructive materials, and as weapons in and of themselves. As such, they are both targets of attack and a potential means of attack. Trailers carrying hazardous materials represent an even greater threat since an accidental or intentional release of these materials could be catastrophic.
Even if trailers are not “lost” but simply unattended, waiting for pickup by a driver for example, their cargo is subject to both theft and sabotage. Trailers loaded with food products are of particular concern since those products could be contaminated prior to delivery.
Congress recognized the vulnerability of the transportation sector in general, and of what are known as “untethered” trailers in particular, in a 2003 report and subsequent appropriations bill. That bill directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, FMCSA, to “…develop an untethered trailer tracking and control system” that would provide detailed information on all aspects of untethered trailer location and access.
The FMCSA conducted a Field Operational Test, FOT, of various untethered trailer tracking, UTT, systems and has released a report on the results of the FOT. The report concluded that current UTT technology utilizing global positioning and cellular communications capabilities would provide major improvements in both security and reduction of theft vulnerability. “The UTT system can reduce these vulnerabilities by addressing the potential threats of stolen trailers, which could be used to convey weapons of mass destruction and the theft of hazardous materials cargo which could result in catastrophic releases” – from the executive summary of the FMCSA, field operational test report.
The test focused on a number of commercially available systems that provided at a minimum, the following information:
- Near real-time trailer identification
- Accurate time of connection and disconnection activities
- Location and mapping of trailers
- Geo-fencing to identify a risk area. (Geo-fencing is the ability to place a “virtual fence” around a trailer or vehicle, which will cause an automatic notification of controllers should the vehicle stray beyond that “fence”.
- Unscheduled movement notification
- Remote sensing of a loaded or empty trailer
- Cargo and door sensors
- Alerts
The first five elements provide information regarding the location and movement of the trailer itself, whether or not it contains any cargo. The final three elements provide additional security data focused on the cargo.
The field operational test proved the feasibility of UTT technology. Costs of equipping each trailer with the necessary equipment are estimated by the FMCSA to be in the $1000 range, with monthly tracking service fees of around $12. (This does not include the costs of equipping tractors with the satellite-based mobile communications system required for the tractor-trailer connection and disconnection information.)
The FMCSA sees the decision of whether or not to mandate the use of UTT technology as falling under the auspices of homeland security officials. While the field operational test proved the validity of the UTT concept, whether or not it becomes a federal requirement for all trailers is a decision that will be made in the future.
Below is a listing of some of the currently available UTT systems:
- QUALCOMM's TrailerTRACS
- General Electric's VeriWise
- Geogolic Solution's TrailerMax
- Terion's FleetView 3 Trailer Management System
- SkyBitz's Global Location System
- TransCore's GlobalWave
- Teletouch Communication's VisionTrax
- AirlQ's Refrigerated Trailer Tracking Solution
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