Your Guide to Smart Trailers for Commercial Fleets

Trailers, which are containers or objects towed by an automotive vehicle, now outnumber trucks on the road three to one. Carrying an average of about 55.2 million tons of freight a year valued at over $54.0 billion, trailers are indispensable to the trucking industry, helping move goods and materials across the world’s vast transportation roadways.

As a result of the rise of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, organizations can now digitize their trailers and connect them to the cloud—transforming them into smart trailers. In this guide, we’ll break down common types of trailers and how a smart trailer system can help you protect and optimize your fleet operations.

What is a smart trailer? 

Trailers are typically attached to semi-trailer trucks and used to transport various goods and materials. Trailers come in many different shapes and sizes, all with different functions. The most common trailers include:

• Basic tractor-trailers such as rental or seasonal trailers will have a harness, nose box, wheeled chassis, and suspensions, and can be attached to a powered vehicle.

• Flatbed trailers have a flat bodywork without any sides or roof. They are primarily used to transport lumber, steel, construction equipment, and other open-air goods. Other common variants of flatbed trailers include step deck, double drop, stand up tow dolly, and sidekit.

• Dry van trailers are fully enclosed and protected from the weather. They are primarily used to transport pallets, boxes, or loose freight. 

• Tanker trailers have cylindrical bodies. They are primarily used to transport liquids (such as fuel and water) and hazardous materials (such as chemicals). 

• Reefer trailers have refrigerated bodies that are insulated and tightly sealed. They are primarily used to transport perishable products that may spoil during shipment such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, and pharmaceuticals.

While trailers haul a variety of goods that sustain our global economy, their importance hasn’t made them immune to today’s macroeconomic challenges. Recent supply chain issues have led to heightened demand for trailers in the midst of limited supply. Trailer theft has also been on the rise, since the freight held inside trailers, as well as the trailers themselves, are expensive and highly valuable. To overcome these challenges, organizations need to get the most out of existing trailer fleets and protect them for the long term. 

As Internet of Things (IoT) technology trends toward mass adoption, it has completely changed the way organizations operate—including how trailers are tracked and managed. With the use of GPS devices, Bluetooth and WiFi-enabled sensors, camera technology, and API integrations that connect to unified cloud data interfaces, organizations can harness the power of IoT to transform trailers into smart trailers—providing real-time visibility and reporting across a mix of trailer fleets, all in one dashboard on a laptop or a mobile app. 

Smart trailer systems leverage advanced telematics to capture and consolidate data across trailers. With a smart trailer system, you can optimize your fleet operations, protect your assets, and improve critical supply chains.

What challenges can a smart trailer system help solve? 

On average, the cost of a trailer has increased by 250% over the last few years. Depending on the freight, the cost of the cargo inside can be worth much more. Protecting and optimizing these assets is critical to running a successful fleet operation, but before the advent of IoT-powered trailer technology, organizations faced massive challenges that impacted efficiency and profitability. Below are a few of the most common challenges a smart trailer system can help solve.

1. Cargo theft and misplacement 

The value of cargo inside trailers, as well as the trailer itself, make it especially susceptible to theft. Across the United States and Canada, cargo theft losses were estimated to cost upwards of $19 million in 2022, a 73% increase from the previous year. 

The FBI defines cargo theft as the unlawful taking of any cargo, either in part or in whole. The most common means of theft is when trucks are at rest. Truck drivers will often leave their vehicles unattended at places of stoppage, such as parking lots, truck stops, or drop-offs. These moments of inactivity are exactly when thieves are looking to strike, oftentimes forcibly opening trailer doors or even stealing entire trailers. 

In addition, trailers are often lost or misplaced, sometimes in remote areas that are untraceable through usual GPS coordinates. Misplaced trailers can lead to unplanned downtime in your fleet operations, potentially costing as much as $5,600 per minute.

2. Damaged products for temperature-sensitive cargo

Though reefer trailers are designed to carry temperature-sensitive cargo, load-loss as a result of temperature fluctuations may still occur. Nearly 40% of the world’s food loss occurs after harvest, and that’s without accounting for the loss of other products—such as pharmaceuticals, plants, or photography film—that require precise temperature control during transit. 

Keeping cargo within a specific temperature range can be challenging, especially for food products. The FDA states that perishable foods must be stored at 41°F or below to ensure safe consumption. Particularly during reefer hauls that span hours in uncertain temperature conditions, rejected loads may result in significant financial losses. On the whole, the USDA estimated that approximately 133 billion pounds and almost $161 billion worth of food was wasted in the U.S. in 2010—some (though not all) of which was likely due to unsafe temperature during transit. 

3. Underutilized trailers magnify supply chain challenges

On top of protecting your trailers, maximizing the utilization of your existing trailers is also important for profitability. Idle trailers, or “trailer dormancy,” can negatively impact your bottom line. It’s not uncommon for trailers to be left idle for days at a time—if your trailers aren’t being used, that means you’re not making money.

Typically, organizations will rightsize their fleet to get the most out of their trailers, but this process is often manual and inefficient. Utilization analysis identifies assets in surplus by calculating hours of usage across a fleet. This process requires tedious data entry and complicated formulas that can be error-prone and time-consuming. Fleet owners and fleet managers need a more efficient way to minimize unnecessary overhead costs, reduce idle trailers, and optimize utilization.

In addition, due to shortages in labor and various trailer components (such as wood, steel, and aluminum), the supply of trailers simply cannot meet demand—the backlog for trailers in the U.S. was estimated to be over 185,000 in 2022. Compared to the previous year, net trailer orders increased by a staggering 168%. Organizations and trucking companies looking to position their business for the long term need to maximize the utilization and productivity of their existing trailer fleet.

4. Changing customer expectations for service and billing

Along with the rise of digitization and real-time information, the expectations for a modern customer experience have also started to change. Today, customers are demanding their goods be delivered with speed and in peak condition. Customers want access to real-time updates on where and how their deliveries are being made.

Similarly, payments have digitized too, changing the way customers bill and transact goods. For example, a construction company may lease out tractor-trailers and other equipment by the hour, which means they need automated and digitized data from their assets that is safe, accurate, and timely.

How can your fleet benefit from smart trailer technology?

By leveraging IoT technology and advanced telematics, organizations can connect their smart trailers to a unified cloud data interface, gaining real-time visibility and automating reporting—on a laptop or mobile app—across their trailer fleet. This centralization enables organizations to optimize fleet operations, protect assets, and improve critical supply chain. Below are some of the top benefits of a smart trailer system.

1. Protect your cargo from theft and misplacement

Advanced trailer telematics now make it possible to connect data across a trailer fleet, providing organizations with real-time visibility into their trailer operations—enabling them to protect their cargo from theft and misplacement. IoT technology such as Bluetooth-powered sensors can be attached to cargo doors, detecting when doors open and close. GPS tracking devices also provide accurate trailer locations, sending alerts when trailers are moved outside a predefined set of boundaries. With real-time location tracking, fleet managers have the visibility to quickly detect and respond to theft or unauthorized use, enabling law enforcement to streamline asset recovery.

2. Reduce load-loss resulting from fluctuating reefer temperatures

Internet-connected environmental monitors can now track and remotely transmit reefer temperature and humidity data in real time. Fleet managers can use advanced telematics to get real-time visibility into reefer temperatures as they fluctuate, making it possible to identify and correct changes before cargo has a chance to perish. When reefer temperatures do change, fleet managers can get automatic alerts on their mobile devices notifying them of out-of-range temperatures. As a result of real-time reefer temperature tracking, organizations can minimize load-loss, improve cold-chain integrity, and ensure product quality. 

3. Maximize the utilization of your trailers and efficiently manage supply chain challenges

Smart trailers can also help trucking companies more efficiently allocate their fleet to maximize utilization. Using an advanced telematics system to consolidate data across a trailer fleet, you can generate a Utilization Report that automate calculation for a trailer’s rate of usage as segmented by type, location, and date used. This can help fleets improve trailer-to-tractor ratio and grow revenue by redeploying under-utilized trailers to areas with higher demand. By reporting and monitoring on utilization, fleet managers can more effectively allocate trailers, reducing idle time and improving fleet profitability.

In addition, maximizing trailer utilization can help to mitigate some of the challenges around ongoing supply chain issues. Even with the global shortage in labor and trailer components, trucking companies need to ensure that they can continue to run and grow their businesses with their existing fleet. Using smart trailer technology, organizations can weather supply chain disruptions by optimizing their trailer operations and protecting their existing assets.

4. Satisfy customer expectations by streamlining service and billing

Organizations can meet rising customer expectations with advanced telematics technology. Both the back office and customers can now have access to real-time GPS data, getting visibility into accurate ETAs and location-based reports. When deliveries reach their destination, important documents such as proof of service and billing can be digitized and uploaded to the cloud, which the back office can later use to consolidate and automate reporting.

Improve and protect your trailer operations with Samsara Smart Trailers

Samsara Smart Trailers is a trailer management solution that can help you improve visibility, reduce costs, and optimize trailer operations: 

• Enhance trailer allocation and increase profitability by redeploying under-utilized trailers. 

• Prevent theft and misplacement with real-time GPS data by enabling geofences and alerts when high-value trailers leave a predetermined area.

• Streamline client billing processes with live ETAs and automated location-based reports using real-time data.

• Reduce load-loss with two-way temperature controls and automated trip history reports  for reefers.

• Improve trailer operations and scale your trailer fleet with OEM and sensor integrations, such as Thermo King reefers and tire pressure monitoring systems.

How Brenntag North America improved trailer operations and maximized asset utilization

Brenntag North America—a leader in wholesale chemical distribution with more than 190 locations across the United States and Canada—relies on Samsara to streamline their operations for a fleet of more than 1,200 units.

With Samsara, Brenntag now has real-time visibility into their trailer operations—which is particularly important since they haul hazardous materials. Accurate GPS tracking enables Brenntag to pinpoint exact trailer locations, and when a trailer is finally dropped at a customer site, real-time data enables them to automate billing. In addition, Brenntag uses Samsara Utilization Reports to reallocate underutilized trailers, lowering costs for purchasing and leasing new equipment.

Learn more about how Samsara Smart Trailers can help you improve trailer operations and reduce costs.