Dive Brief:

• CMA CGM will add 50,000 container trackers to its fleet that will give shippers information on the location, external temperature and shock intensity their cargo undergoes while on its voyage, the company announced yesterday.
• The data collected by these sensors will be accessible either through a web portal or an API allowing shippers to pull this information into their own systems. The technology is made by Traxens, which CMA CGM invested in beginning in 2012 and has piloted for "several years," the press release said.
• Shippers will have to specifically request these containers as they make up only a small percentage of the company's stock. CMA CGM did not specify what percentage.

Dive Insight:

The trend toward Internet of Things (IoT) enabled containers has been unfolding in the shipping industry for the last few years with many of the industry's big players investing in this technology, giving their shipper customers greater access to information and visibility.

MSC announced last October it was outfitting 50,000 containers with Tranxens' IoT technology to track various aspects of the trip including location and temperature. "Smart containers are a perfect example of where we can cooperate according to industry standards to make our services truly comprehensive," MSC CEO Diego Aponte said last year when announcing the investment.

Maersk rolled out a virtual assistant named Captain Peter to help shippers keep track of their cargo. The assistant can send updates with information similar to the condition of the container and provide alerts related to the arrival timeline.

All of this information gives shippers insight not just to when a shipment may arrive, but also where and how issues arise. If customers consistently have problems related to temperature or shock, they can pinpoint where those take place to try and find solutions.

"Traxens’ solution enables customers to reduce the shipping cost per container per voyage," Suriya Anjumohan, a transportation and logistics analyst for Frost & Sullivan, said in a Traxens press release. "Moreover, the company goes the extra mile by reducing cargo loss, packaging costs, damaged goods, theft, pilferage, tampering, fraud and counterfeiting, thereby saving billions of euros annually for customers."

Shippers who want to gather more information not already collected by the Traxens Smart Container solution can add other sensors and connect them wirelessly to the Traxens network using an application called Traxens-Net.