Port of Oakland to use load-tracking technology

The Trucker News Services

7/24/2007

Mike Berger, director of marketing for Xora, maker of part of the technology, said the system is being utilized on a pilot basis by about 200 trucks currently, with a goal of an estimated 3,000 trucks using it at the Port of Oakland by the end of the year.

He said the Bay Area World Trade Center was looking for ways to increase and expedite business at the Port and to give the Port a competitive edge. They connected a local provider, Walsh Wireless, who was a partner with both Sprint Nextel and Xora (based in Mountain View, Calif.), and that Xora was asked to come up with the technology “mix” that would make it all happen.

Xora’s Truck Tracker uses technology from three separate companies. The Inter Asset System (IAS) Hub is a common operating platform for the ocean container shippers and is the primary data repository for the program. Xora provides real-time location and data collection through GPS-enabled mobile phones. Sprint/Nextel provides the location-based service platform and high-speed wireless network which carries data from drivers’ phones and ultimately flows into the IAS Hub.

GPS-enabled phones are distributed to participating trucking companies. Those phones are used to capture the status and location of the trucks and to deliver instructions to the truckers. The mobile communications are tied to carrier dispatch systems, and to ocean carriers and shippers’ systems to integrate the flow of data on containers and their whereabouts. More than 200 Sprint Nextel handsets running the Xora service have been delivered to participating truckers.

It’s too early for figures to be in on time savings, said Berger, but he added that ocean carriers reported that the wait time for  obtaining shipment information had decreased from two hours to as little as 10 minutes in some cases.

As far as keeping tabs on port traffic, which is one of the uses of the Xora technology, analyzing congestion is ongoing, Berger said. However, he said the Port is contemplating initiating a reservation system, which would hopefully cut truckers’ wait times for picking up a container.

Berger said the technology also may be used for tracking empty containers and even tagging the ones which contain hazardous materials.

A geo fencing aspect will enable port terminals or distribution centers to keep track of who enters or exits their specific boundaries and to send an alert if an unknown vehicle breaches the area.

Because the technology is the first of its kind, Berger said “we hope to build upon the success at the Port of Oakland and take it to other ports as an integrated solution.”

For more information call (650) 327-1641.