C.H. Robinson’s recent upgrade to its Drop Trailer Plus program combines advanced telematics data and artificial intelligence to help trucking companies manage trailer pools more efficiently.

The new Asset Management System (AMS) turns thousands of trailers into intelligent assets, according to C.H. Robinson, with real-time awareness of inventory, dwell times, and facility commitments. 

It’s a major step up from the manual spreadsheets and incompatible systems that are still the norm in much of this industry segment, according to the company.

The vendor-agnostic system supports both Robinson-owned and contract carrier trailers, providing a unified portal for scheduling, billing, and maintenance.

The Promise of and Problems with Drop Trailer Programs

Drop trailer programs, also known as drop and hook, today represent nearly 50% of the truckload market, according to the company. These programs allow carriers to leave trailers at shipper facilities for flexible loading and unloading. 

C.H. Robinson’s Drop Trailer Plus is one of the largest trailer pools in the country, with more than 800,000 annual shipments and more than 10,000 trailers in circulation daily.

With this new upgrade, users will enjoy 24/7 real-time tracking, AI-driven automation, fraud and theft mitigation, and other features.

Linked with the company’s AI-infused global shipper platform, Navisphere, it empowers faster, smarter, and more cost-efficient decisions than ever before.

Drop Trailer Plus: No More Yard Hunts

Adam McDonough, C.H. Robinson Vice President of Truckload, called Drop Trailer Plus AMS a “game-changer.”

“With real-time visibility across both our own and our strategic contract carriers’ fleets, we’re able to monitor each trailer in real time, at rest or in motion, and help [shippers and carriers] streamline operations, right-size trailer pools, maximize uptime, and minimize waste, leading to lower costs and less unplanned work. 

“For example, there will be no more yard-hunts for hard-to-find trailers that lack connected systems. You’ll know exactly where every single trailer is, at any time, whether it’s part of C.H. Robinson pool of trailers or another provider on our platform.”

Modernizing Trailer Pool Management

Drop trailer programs, according to C.H. Robinson, have traditionally been represented by asset-based carriers that own trucks and equipment. But they’ve also presented challenges, including manual data entry, incompatible systems, and limited visibility over trailer and freight status.

The new Drop Trailer Plus AMS bundles everything into a real-time platform that covers the C.H. Robinson trailer pool as well as a growing number of contract carriers. 

Built in-house and integrated with Navisphere, the system combines GPS tracking, telematics data, geofencing, and facility mapping to give shippers and carriers a complete view of trailer activity.

Benefits include:

• Improved utilization and efficiency: Optimized routing and planning

• Better trailer availability and more uptime: Locate the trailers you need, when you need them, in optimal working condition — dry van, refrigerated or flatbed.

• Real-time visibility: Monitor your trailer pools and inventory at rest and in motion. With GPS updates up to every 5 seconds, every trailer’s location and status is available, at a facility or on the road, along with live ETAs.

• Proactive exception management: Automated notifications about exceptions like late arrivals, dwell breaches, or idle assets.

• Theft and fraud prevention: Enhance security and mitigate theft and fraud with real-time visibility to both trailer and inventory.

• Performance scorecards: Keep track of operations by lane, site, or carrier, and key KPIs like utilization and dwell time.

“Today’s environment requires nimble logistics, with the ability to scale up and down flexibly and adapt to new opportunities quickly and precisely,” said Michael Castagnetto, president of North American Surface Transportation at C.H. Robinson.

Drop Trailer Plus AMS is currently active across C.H Robinson's own trailer pool as well as several contract carrier fleets, with expansion continuing throughout 2026.