A Canada-based company called vHub that provides an app it developed to help fleets share and reposition trailers is entering the U.S. market. The company announced the move at February’s annual meeting of the Technology & Maintenance Council in Atlanta.

The vHub app will go live in the U.S. on Feb. 26.

The app has been in Canada for nine months and has managed 20,000 rental days, has 4,000 trailers listed, and more than 100 companies registered.

Francis Roy, vicepresident of vHub, said the company is owned by Finloc 2000, an asset-based lender with a deep understanding of the trailer industry.

“We understand the fluctuations of trailer utilization,” he said, adding that Finloc 2000 regularly takes calls from customers either looking to borrow money to buy trailers or to negotiate skipped payments when business slows. “If these guys could talk to each other, it would help everybody in the business.”

Roy said fleets are already exchanging trailers and supporting other’s backhauls, but they need a digital platform to coordinate.

“Our aim is to become the global trailer-sharing community for the trucking business,” he said. “In 2020, it’s mind-boggling there’s no way for anyone in the business to know there’s an available trailer across the street they can use right now.”

The vHub app works on any mobile device and is free to join and list trailers. vHub takes a cut on transactions and handles the financial aspect. Proof of insurance coverage is required upon sign-up and deals are done via credit card (vHub ensures in advance the credit card is pre-approved). A contract protects renters from damage to the asset while it is out on loan.