Shipping Container Status Monitoring

As widely known, 80% of global supply chain assets are transported via container shipping. Currently, there are approximately 36 million containers circulating worldwide. As an important asset for businesses, containers' location and status are often unknown, leading to significant manpower requirements for tracking and results in significant data lag. Effectively managing these assets, obtaining real-time information on container dynamics, and scheduling timely, effective, and efficient operations are critical for enhancing asset utilization and improving competitiveness container-owning enterprises.

As a founding member of the Global Intelligent Container Industry Alliance, Jointech is committed to promoting standardization in the industry. In 2019, we conducted research on the requirements for intelligent containers with alliance members. From 2020 to 2021, we released several group standards for intelligent containers, and introduced a series of intelligent container terminals that integrate with the “JointCloud 2.0” platform, enabling remote status monitoring and scheduling management.

Smart containers are composed of two parts: the smart container terminals and the monitoring platform. The container is equipped with a maintenance-free smart terminal and sensors, which allows the container to be monitored globally for a period of 3-5 years. Different types of smart terminals can be used depending on specific needs. The monitoring platform provides real-time location information and historical tracking data for the container, as well as real-time door status, historical door opening and closing data, and real-time temperature and humidity data with historical change curves. In addition, it records the arrival or departure times within designated areas.

The platform also allows users to configure warning services for unusual events, such as unauthorized door opening, abnormal temperature and humidity changes, and unusual container delays. Container companies can remotely and effectively manage the transportation of goods, obtain information on the distribution and status of containers in different locations, and prevent abnormal events through environmental sensing, reducing the chances of accidents.

In the past two years, millions of containers have been managed intelligently by shipping companies, railway companies, and logistics companies worldwide, and this number is rapidly growing. With the continuous progress of smart container standards, it is reasonable to believe that all containers will become smart in the future.