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March 8, 2023 / by

Maximize Return on Investment With Trailer Management

Trucking demand is at near record highs, which poses challenges for trailer management. While more business means more revenue, it also leaves fleet and trailer managers scrambling to get more done with fewer drivers available. A shortage of resources makes efficiency absolutely essential to avoid getting buried in backlogs. 

Here we’ll share five tips on how to maximize your current loads and keep trailers turning faster so your fleet and your business keep on rolling.

The current state of trailer demand: orders outstripping capacity

Trailer orders surged to near-record highs at the end of 2022, according to monthly reporting by trucking industry market data firm ACT Research. December orders of 57,300 units topped November numbers by 46% and December 2021 numbers by 115%.

While this booming business is welcome, trailer managers are struggling to meet demand with the limited capacity available. The December surge pushed backlog orders above 200,000, a 17% increase, according to monthly tracking by FTR Transportation Intelligence. Current data indicates trailer managers should expect demand to continue outstripping capacity through the end of 2023. This underscores why efficient trailer management has become so critical.

Five keys to effective trailer management

How can trailer and fleet managers close the gap between capacity and demand? Combining best practices with automation can help you increase your efficiency to better manage demand volume. Five of the most important best practices to follow are:

  1. Tracking your assets
  2. Keeping trailers ready to roll
  3. Managing driver scheduling and safety
  4. Maximizing trailer utilization while minimizing detention and dwell time
  5. Optimizing resources with managed services

Here’s how automation can help you put these tips into practice effectively:

1. Track your assets

If you’re not tracking your assets accurately, you have no way to know if you’ve got enough capacity to meet demand. Moreover, you don’t know where the resources you do have are or where they would be best deployed.

You can solve this problem by automating your asset tracking. Spireon’s solution combines GPS tracking for trucks with the cloud and artificial intelligence to provide trailer managers and drivers with the ability to see where all your assets are at any time. For example, drivers no longer have to hunt through crowded yards to find empty trailers.

2. Keep trailers ready to roll

Nothing can disrupt trailer management faster than unforeseen maintenance and repair issues. Underinflated tires and dead liftgate batteries can force drivers into downtime and drive up the costs of roadside service calls.

Trailer readiness technology keeps your trailers mobile and reduces downtime. It uses automation to maintain digital maintenance schedules, track tire data, and monitor liftgate status. This can significantly reduce downtime due to maintenance issues, ensuring your trucks are ready to roll.

3. Manage driver scheduling and safety

Driver management is another key to trailer management. Your drivers can’t keep your vehicles on the road if they’re wasting time searching for empty trailers or healing injuries incurred while opening and closing trailer doors.

Keep your drivers working and safe with automated driver management software. GPS tracking for trucks can help your drivers quickly locate assets in trailer parking lots without risking exposure to environmental hazards in manual yard searches. Automatic load status monitoring reduces injuries from manual trailer door opening and closing. Automated route planning tools can help you plan driver shipping lanes to minimize travel time and fuel costs.

4. Maximize trailer utilization while minimizing detention and dwell time

Inefficient usage of trailer space can wreak havoc on your fleet management. Time wasted loading goods or waiting to unload them can have a similarly disastrous effect.

Use digital tracking tools to maximize trailer utilization while minimizing detention and dwell time. Remote sensors and image capture can be used to verify trailer loading status, flag inefficient loading patterns, and improve loading practices.

5. Increase efficiency with managed services

Technology can save you time, but only if you know how to use it. The learning curve for adopting new tools can cost you valuable time you’re not spending managing your fleet.

Spireon solves this dilemma by providing managed services that make using our tools easy for you. Dedicated operations analysts relieve you of the burden of handling tasks such as preparing reports and analyzing data. We provide you with snapshots of your key numbers and offer actionable tips so you can take corrective steps to improve your efficiency.

Optimize your trailer management with Spieron

With today’s surge in demand for trucking, efficient trailer management is critical for keeping your fleet rolling on schedule. Following best practices and leveraging automation can help you increase your efficiency and avoid backlogs. Five of the top keys to efficient trailer management are asset tracking, trailer readiness, driver management, trailer, and time utilization, as well as managed services.

Spireon helps you put these tips into practice with a complete trail management solution that empowers you to track your trailers and assets, optimize your fleet, and increase your profit margin. 

Our solution helps you automate fleet tracking, maintain trailer readiness, boost driver satisfaction, reduce detention and dwell time, and make the most of your resources. Using our managed services can increase your ROI by an average of 200%.

Learn more by reaching out to one of our experts to talk about how our trailer management solutions can help you increase efficiency.