Thermo King enters Road Ready’s partner network

Thermo King is joining Road Ready’s LogIQ smart partner network, expanding the Clarience Technologies company’s connectivity solutions to include cold chain technology. The integration, expected to be “widely available” in mid-2023, will enable Road Ready to provide cold chain solutions via Thermo King’s TracKing platform.

“The unprecedented and growing demand for cold chain transportation has led to all-time-high rates on refrigerated transporters and incorporating this data for Road Ready customers is critical to the optimized efficiency of refrigerated fleet operations—both now and in the future,” said Nada Jiddou, executive vice president of Clarience and general manager of Road Ready. “Thermo King is a leader in cold chain solutions and we are happy to have them join our LogIQ smart partner network.”

Trends in cold chain transportation predict explosive growth

Spurred by the global need to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in mass quantities at chilled temperatures, the cold chain transportation industry is red hot and is not expected to cool down anytime soon, Clarience said. Experts predict the cold chain transportation market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 14% by 2030 as pharmaceutical and pre-prepared food trends continue.

Road Ready’s agreement with Thermo King enables fleet visibility into key elements of proper cold chain cargo management that will only become more critical for refrigerated units as demand grows, such as active and ambient temperature and return air control.

Moreover, due to the high-value of many cold-chain cargo loads, and refrigerated units themselves, Road Ready users now can track vehicle IDs and alarm codes for TracKing equipment located in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Ability to monitor and control cold chain assets

The most innovative portion of Thermo King’s integration with Road Ready is the ability for two-way control, which allows refrigerated transportation customers to go beyond monitoring-level information, the companies said. Now they have the ability to adjust temperature levels remotely via the Road Ready platform.

“The growth we are seeing from our customers in the cold chain sector is, of course, food, but it’s also new revenue streams like vaccines and other health-related tech,” said Dominic Hand, vice president of information technology and connected products for Thermo King Americas. “When dealing with this type of cargo, it is much more critical to maintain consistent temperatures. Two-way commands via Thermo King’s TracKing platform bring more assurance that our customers can successfully and safely deliver this cargo.”

The power of LogIQ

First launched in 2021, the LogIQ network brings together 11 industry leading partners to incorporate data from every part of a trailer, from tires and brakes to cargo and weight management.

“A common concern we hear from fleets is that there is too much data and too many platforms,” Jiddou said. “LogIQ alleviates that concern for fleets by acting as a universal language decoder for data generated by smart trailer components, and then helps fleets drive smart decision making by aggregating all that data in one place.”

The LogIQ network includes the following companies:

• Air-Weigh
• ConMet Digital
• Continental
• Hendrickson
• Hyundai Translead
• Meritor
• Pressure Systems International (P.S.I.)
• Right Weigh
• SAF Holland
• SKF
• Stemco

Now, Thermo King joins the fold.

“Joining the LogIQ network further expands the data-centric experience we have been committed to providing our refrigerated unit portfolio for nearly two decades,” Hand said. “Our priority is to provide customers with critical data, when and where they need it. Now, refrigerated fleets can use our data, coupled with supplementary data from the LogIQ network, to unlock new levels of uptime and efficiency.”