DIGITAL freight technology company Loadsmart has announced it has raised another US$19 million to embark on a 'Smart Drayage' scheme to improve the flow of freight through American ports.
Jersey City-based Ports America, a large US terminal operator has joined Danish shipping giant Maersk in the venture that has brought total funding up to $53.4 million.
Smart Drayage rethinks the flow of shipping containers through marine terminals to develop a free-flow model to accelerate the transit of goods, said New York-based Loadsmart.
'The free-flow model means that truck drivers will be given the best container available when they arrive, having pre-agreed with a specific mileage band trip,' said Loadsmart CEO Ricardo Salgado.
'As a result, we project that truck drivers will be able to reduce their time to get in and out of the port by at least 25 per cent. At the same time, we estimate that port operators will be able to reduce container shuffles by at least 50 per cent, a huge efficiency gain,' said Mr Salgado.
Recent FreightWaves research shows that there are more than 60 million drayage movements each year in North America, representing a $50 billion plus market with ports contributing 26 per cent to the US gross domestic product. Yet, due to lack of efficiency and transparency, 15 million man-hours and 2.3 billion gallons of fuel are wasted due to trucker congestion at ports.
Said Maersk Growth chief Sune Stilling: 'We want to define the future of trade. From the onset, we recognised the synergies between Maersk and Loadsmart and our joint opportunity to drive change through technology. Our partnership will increase inland business opportunities to add value to our clients.'
Said Ports America CEO Mark Montgomery: 'We need to rethink how goods are moved more efficiently. Streamlining the drayage movement benefits our trucking community with faster turn times while providing cargo owners with better visibility and more efficient container retrievals.'
The announcement comes together with the release of Loadsmart Drayage Instant Booking. The new service is available via Loadsmart's website and enables small and medium-sized shippers to book a drayage truck in seconds. For enterprise accounts Loadsmart offers an API integrated solution.
WORLD SHIPPING
Jersey City-based Ports America, a large US terminal operator has joined Danish shipping giant Maersk in the venture that has brought total funding up to $53.4 million.
Smart Drayage rethinks the flow of shipping containers through marine terminals to develop a free-flow model to accelerate the transit of goods, said New York-based Loadsmart.
'The free-flow model means that truck drivers will be given the best container available when they arrive, having pre-agreed with a specific mileage band trip,' said Loadsmart CEO Ricardo Salgado.
'As a result, we project that truck drivers will be able to reduce their time to get in and out of the port by at least 25 per cent. At the same time, we estimate that port operators will be able to reduce container shuffles by at least 50 per cent, a huge efficiency gain,' said Mr Salgado.
Recent FreightWaves research shows that there are more than 60 million drayage movements each year in North America, representing a $50 billion plus market with ports contributing 26 per cent to the US gross domestic product. Yet, due to lack of efficiency and transparency, 15 million man-hours and 2.3 billion gallons of fuel are wasted due to trucker congestion at ports.
Said Maersk Growth chief Sune Stilling: 'We want to define the future of trade. From the onset, we recognised the synergies between Maersk and Loadsmart and our joint opportunity to drive change through technology. Our partnership will increase inland business opportunities to add value to our clients.'
Said Ports America CEO Mark Montgomery: 'We need to rethink how goods are moved more efficiently. Streamlining the drayage movement benefits our trucking community with faster turn times while providing cargo owners with better visibility and more efficient container retrievals.'
The announcement comes together with the release of Loadsmart Drayage Instant Booking. The new service is available via Loadsmart's website and enables small and medium-sized shippers to book a drayage truck in seconds. For enterprise accounts Loadsmart offers an API integrated solution.
WORLD SHIPPING