Transcontinental logistics and transportation service innovator Alliance Shippers Inc. is enhancing its refrigerated intermodal operations in North America with Carrier Transicold’s telematics solution and Vector thin-profile refrigeration units.
The telematics solution, supported by Carrier Transicold’s monitor and enhanced control two-way data plan, is being installed on all 1,500 of Alliance Shippers’ 53-foot trailers and intermodal containers, improving on the fleet’s prior system with a range of benefits that go well beyond temperature monitoring and control, tracking asset location and movement.
“Telematics brings us many different capabilities,” said Ronald Topp, Director of Maintenance, Alliance Shippers Inc., which is headquartered in Chicago and has refrigerated operations there, as well as in Rialto, California, and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. “We want to proactively monitor our customers’ freight in real time at any given point in the supply chain, and the improved visibility telematics provides enables us to support our customers with updated and timely information.”
Beyond maintaining perishable cargo temperatures per customer specifications, Alliance Shippers uses the Carrier Transicold telematics solution to:
- Run pre-trip inspections remotely and verify that fuel tanks are topped off so the trailers and containers can quickly get to the next origin point to reload.
- Monitor fuel consumption within geofenced areas, such as distribution centers, to incentivize customers to more efficiently load and unload assets.
- Proactively monitor equipment performance remotely, using Carrier Transicold’s unit analytics, which contributes to maintenance efficiencies.
- Upgrade refrigeration unit software over the air, significantly improving efficiencies compared to manual upgrades by service technicians.
As with the fleet’s Carrier Transicold refrigeration units, the telematics system is fully supported by Carrier Transicold’s nationwide network of factory trained technicians.
“We are pleased to support Alliance Shippers through our knowledgeable and expansive dealer network, which delivers a unique OEM advantage over other providers that lack such comprehensive, mission-critical resources,” said David Brondum, Director of Telematics, Carrier Transicold.
Concurrent with the telematics upgrade, which is being handled by Carrier Transicold dealer Valley Transport Refrigeration of Fresno, California, Alliance Shippers is modernizing its fleet, converting from the traditional trailer-on-flatcar model to modern, stackable 53-foot domestic intermodal containers that are preferred by railroads. For its latest 200 containers, Alliance Shippers specified Vector models from Carrier Transicold’s portfolio of thin-profile refrigeration units that allow for a larger cargo envelope than possible with traditional intermodal container configurations, resulting in a volume comparable to over-the-road trailers. Each is equipped with Carrier Transicold’s rail-optimized solar charging system, providing 4.2 Amps of current to help maintain battery life for refrigeration unit and telematics system.
Vector series units feature E-Drive technology, a uniquely all-electric refrigeration system that is powered by a high-output generator direct-coupled to a diesel engine. The hybrid diesel-electric design eliminates complexity found in traditional transport refrigeration systems and uses intelligent controls to work more efficiently, which has been verified by Alliance Shippers’ fuel-consumption studies.
