Hapag-Lloyd has equipped 100,000 of its reefer containers with monitoring devices, as part of its transition to a “smart” reefer fleet.
The company had set the target at the start of the rollout in 2020 when it had a fleet of 93,000 reefers. Today, its inventory has grown to 149,000 reefer containers in total.
Newly built containers are now being equipped with tracking devices directly from the factory, while existing containers in the fleet are being equipped during regular Pre-Trip- Inspection (PTI) processes by depots.
The biggest installation locations include Hapag-Lloyd’s own reefer depot in Rotterdam, where more than 12,000 installations have taken place since the start of the rollout.
Other key locations include Belgian Container Maintenance in Antwerp (4,700 installations) and Tercon Terminal de Contenedores in Guayaquil, Ecuador (4,300 installations).
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The data from the 100,000 reefers already equipped with monitoring systems is being used to monitor the fleet for any incidents that could damage cargo – such as incorrect temperature setpoints or technical alarms.
In summer 2022, Hapag-Lloyd launched “Smart Pre-Trip Inspections” for reefers, which replaces traditional physical machinery checks of the reefers in the depot with data-driven validation of their condition. This will in turn help reduce costs and make reefers available for customers faster, according to the company.
“While we continue to install in the field, finding the remaining ones in the fleet is getting trickier and trickier,” said Andrea Schöning, Senior Director Container Steering.
“We target to exceed the 90 per cent fleet installation mark during the upcoming construction phase of new reefer containers.”
Hapag-Lloyd forecasts that it will be able to sell the service on more than 50,000 units in 2023, and a full smart fleet of reefer boxes by the end of the year.
Hapag-Lloyd witnessed a successful 2022, with a significant increase in profits up to $18 billion. The company’s EBITDA increased to $20.5 billion, while EBIT grew to $18.5 billion.
