july2022 - 42

TMC Special Section
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Smart trailer tech
proves hot investment
for cold chain
logistics providers
TMC study analyzes refrigerated trailer
carriers' perceptions of smart trailer
technology benefits and challenges.
By Robert M. Braswell
Paying attention to the details in cold chain
logistics can save customers and carriers cold
hard cash-especially for those companies
that are investing in the latest technological
advancements. That's why ATA's Technology &
Maintenance Council (TMC) has turned its sights
onto the study of refrigerated trailer operations.
TMC has recently issued a new information
report entitled " North American Refrigerated Trailer
Survey Report: Next Generation Trailer Expectations. "
Developed in cooperation with eSMARTT, a collaboration
between Business Accelerants and WillGo
Transportation Consulting LLC, the information
report benchmarks the operations of 33 fleets
representing an estimated 20% of all refrigerated
trailers and domestic
containers produced during
the last seven years in
North America, and about
12% of all reefer units in
North American operation
overall.
The
latest
report
builds on the success
of the collaboration's
first effort in June 2021,
which explored the
use and adoption of
intelligence products
and services across
the trucking industry
with an examination
of adoption
of the trailer rental
and lease fleet
sector. The previous
report, TMC IR-2021-1:
North American Trailer Rental/Lease Company
Survey Report-Next Generation Trailer Expectations,
an analysis of smart trailer technologies currently
employed by North American trailer rental/lease
companies, is available at tmc.trucking.org/blog/
future-truck-information-reports.
TMC's June 2021 study identified refrigerated
carriers as early adopters of technology driven
by the need to track temperatures and the high
cost of failures. This new study provides extensive
data on typical trailer configurations, refrigerat42
Fleet Maintenance | July 2022
ed trailer life, transportation refrigeration unit
expectations, challenges for technology, return
on investment decision criteria, and more.
The initial study showed that refrigerated fleets
were more likely than other carrier types to adopt
new electronics technology on the trailer. For
instance, whereas the data at that time suggested
less than 25% of trailers had trailer-tracking electronics,
65% of refrigerated trailers had the same
technology, and some with more for controlling
the transportation refrigeration unit.
Why conduct an in-depth survey
of refrigerated fleets?
" In short, it's because we expect as much change
in technology for the trailer in the next 30 years
as we've seen in the tractor in the last 30 years, "
said co-principal investigator Paul Menig, CEO of
Business Accelerants. " The effort started in early
2019 with a panel discussion at one of our many
industry trade association meetings. This led to
the formation of two task forces at TMC to look at
the electrical architecture needed in the future on
the trailer and how the connection to the tractor
will need to change. Twenty-five years ago, I was
involved in discussions for the trailer connection
as the trailer ABS regulation came into effect in
2001. So, to start this effort, we did a short survey
to find out where fleets are today with using one
and two connectors. As expected, the percentage
of trailers with more than a single connector has
grown considerably. " Menig has more than 40
years of engineering experience in truck manufacturing
during his tenures at Eaton Transmission
and Daimler Truck North America.
From this emerged the rationale to launch an
analysis of smart trailer technologies currently
employed by North American trailer rental/lease
companies. Placing a laser-focus on the refrigerated
trailer sector has proven useful at learning
important insights on the early adoption of smart
trailer technology.
What drives the refrigerated
carriers to invest in technology?
" It's probably not a surprise that it is regulations, "
said Menig. " The key regulations are food
safety rules, specifically the Food Safety and
Modernization Act. Already this year, the FDA
has issued 44 recalls. The second most important
rule is the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
rules for transportation refrigeration units. Sixtynine
percent of the trailers covered by the survey
are already CARB compliant. Given the life of a
trailer, the carriers wanted to get a head start on
this regulation. "
This latest TMC information report provides a
wealth of information for fleets and suppliers to
help them benchmark specifications and practices
over a wide range of areas.
" I believe the value they will gain from benchmarking
best practices and specifications will
be worth the initial cost of the report and time
invested in studying it, " said co-principal investigator
Charles Willmott, WillGo Transportation
Consulting. Willmott has extensive experience
in the trailer business with leadership positions
at the Strick Companies, XTRA Corporation, and
Solomon Tri-Modal.
The report reveals valuable lessons with
respect to carrier perceptions of smart trailer
technology benefits, challenges, opportunities,
and disappointments. For example, survey data
indicates carriers hold a high expectation of
receiving tangible improvement from smart
products in numerous areas of operational efficiency;
however, their views on the life cycle and
maintenance of smart products or the proper
integration of smart data with the carrier TMS
is more reserved. Some of the biggest disappointments
identified with smart technology include
equipment failures, battery life, and issues with
replacement parts.
The report dives into a number of important
topics including how smart trailer data is used,
what influences smart technology investment,
how fleets establish ROI metrics, and carriers'
future plans for smart trailer technology.
TMC thanks several companies that helped
create the survey, reaching out to fleets and
getting information out to the industry.
* Level 1 Outreach Sponsors: Clarience Tech nologies
and Wabash recognized early on the importance
of the survey and helped with reviewing the
survey questions.
* Level 2 Outreach Sponsors: Peterson Manufacturing,
Cal/Amp, and Orbcomm helped get
the word out to the industry through an April 27
webinar, during which the report was released.
A recording of TMC's introductory webinar on
the report is available through TMC. To purchase
the full version of the information report, call TMC
at (703) 838-1763 or email tmc@trucking.org.
Robert M. Braswell
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
TECHNOLOGY & MAINTENANCE
COUNCIL (TMC)
Robert M. Braswell is the Executive
Director of the Technology &
Maintenance Council (TMC), North
America's premier technical society
for truck equipment technology and maintenance
professionals. TMC is a technical council of American
Trucking Associations (ATA), the largest national trade
association for the trucking industry. Braswell has
served TMC since 1992. He can be heard each Tuesday
at 10 AM EST/9 AM CST on Tech Talk with TMC on
SiriusXM Radio's The Dave Nemo Show, channel 146.
http://tmc.trucking.org/blog/future-truck-information-reports http://tmc.trucking.org/blog/future-truck-information-reports
july2022

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