Truly no-touch freight

Roadway Express, a subsidiary of YRC Worldwide (formerly Yellow Roadway), has received a patent for its Roadway Sealed Divider Service, a package security system that verifies a shipment remains undisturbed from pickup to delivery.

The patent refers to the numbered rod-lock seal system the company developed to ensure shipment security, said Roadway president & CEO Mike Smid.

At time of pickup, a shipment moving under the Sealed Divider Service is isolated in the nose of a trailer by a customized barrier constructed behind it, he explained. The barrier prevents packages from mingling with other shipments on the trailer.

Two numbered rod lock seals secure the barrier, with the seal numbers recorded on a placard and the freight bill. Once sealed on a Roadway trailer, the shipment is not touched until arrival at its final destination, whereby the receiver compares the seal numbers to the numbers on the placard and freight bill. The matching numbers verify that the shipment traveled undisturbed.

Smid said the service is targeted at products that are difficult or expensive to package for shipping, or are of high value (such as pharmaceuticals), or need verifiable security throughout transit.