Japan, China to track freight using smart tags

Nippon Yusen, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation and Mitsui and Co plan to team with China's largest port operator to develop a freight-tracking system that uses smart tags, the Nikkei Report reported.

Nippon Yusen and the Chinese firm, Shanghai International Port are to start using the new system around 2012.

Tracking freight becomes difficult when it is handled by multiple shipping companies because each firm uses its own transport management system. Many companies use writing on containers to manage shipments, so inputting the data and customs procedures takes time and manpower.

The new system will use wireless smart tags attached to containers, with the devices to store 35-digit ID numbers. Consignors, shipping companies and other firms will install readers at their factories, warehouses and port facilities so that tracking information can be updated automatically when a container arrives or departs.

The system will allow the parties to track all freight online, and it is expected to sharply improve efficiency in delivery management and customs procedures. It will also let firms trim their inventories because they will be able to forecast delivery dates more accurately.

The adoption of the new system by the Shanghai port is expected to prompt shipping companies around the world to follow suit.

Because the smart tag technologies are expected to be made public, it is believed that the price of the tags can be lowered to a little over US$5 each if they are mass-produced by major electronics manufacturers. Nippon Yusen, NTT, and Mitsui plan to sell the management software.

The Japanese government is supporting the effort to have the new system widely adopted. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry estimates that the average time for international shipments of parts and products can be reduced by a day if the new system becomes an international standard.

The Japanese and Chinese governments are to sign an official agreement at the end of next month on promoting an international standard for freight-tracking smart tags. The new tracking system is to be positioned as a model business under the bilateral framework.

(Source: Cargo News Asia)