According to ABI Research, Oyster Bay, N.Y., increasing interest in trailer tracking and monitoring solutions has telematics vendors scrambling

to introduce new, specialized telematics equipment.
ABI said in a press release Tuesday that the industry has evolved to the point where telematics systems vendors are now providing specialized hardware for specific types of trailers besides the common dry van, such as refrigerated and flatbed trailers, and even intermodal cargo containers. The information is from a new ABI report entitled Trailer Tracking Markets.
"We are seeing this newfound interest in trailer tracking and monitoring coming from several areas," states Frank Viquez, ABI Research's director of automotive research. "Homeland Security has been a big motivator among fleet owners and will remain so, but other factors include the replacement of analog-based telematics hardware with digital, a readily-realized return-on-investment for hardware, and the use of telematics as a differentiator for major truckload carriers to improve their efficiency and customer service efforts."
The new study tracks the efforts of vendors around the world to provide trailer tracking and monitoring solutions to a diverse customer base. It also examines applicable technologies -- RFID, terrestrial and satellite communications infrastructures, as well as new GPS competitors -- for their significance and impact.
According to ABI, one of the largest commercial deployments so far this year has been in North America, where Schneider National will outfit all of its 48,000 trailers with Qualcomm's new T2 trailer tracking hardware.
For more information, visit www.abiresearch.com, or call 516.624.2500.