RFID may help solve intermodal black hole, says Horizon’s Kessler
Ocean carrier Horizon Lines is pilot testing radio frequency identification (RFID) in a number of applications to track assets better, said Rick Kessler, Horizon chief information officer, Wednesday at eyefortransport's RFID conference in Las Vegas.
Kessler said one test, where RFID readers have been installed along roadways between the Port of Anchorage and delivery destinations, will allow carriers to track their containers (outfitted with RFID tags) once the boxes leave the port.
Kessler referred to this as the 'intermodal black hole' because once a container leaves a terminal, its whereabouts are unknown to the carrier.
'There's a lot of value for us as an organization to be able to track a container end-to-end,' Kessler said. 'On rail it's O.K., but if it's trucked forget about it.'