SHIPPING LINE, MOTOR CARRIER ADD REEFER MONITORING CAPABILITY

SHIPPING LINE, MOTOR CARRIER ADD REEFER MONITORING CAPABILITY    Wireless technology provider StarTrak LLC said this week it has added two new customers for its refrigerated transport products.
   Crowley Liner Services has installed two-way satellite-based data communication devices on its ocean-going barges to monitor and control refrigerated shipments between its facilities in Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Fla. and Puerto Rico, according to StarTrak.
   Under the contract, StarTrak will install 12 GlobalWave satellite terminals from Vistar Datacom on dual electric generator sets used to power up to 30 refrigerated containers, according to Vistar Datacom spokeswoman Ann Kelly.
   The devices use signals from the Global Positioning Satellite system to track the location of remote assets and the Vistar Datacom satellite network to transmit the data to the end user. StarTrak will integrate the GlobalWave units with sensors attached to the containers and generators to monitor temperature, fuel levels and other vital conditions as well. If differences in operating thresholds are noticed, Crowley officials are electronically notified so that they can take corrective action to preserve the food shipments.
   In the surface transportation sector, StarTrak signed a contract to provide its ReeferTrak Commander product to R&R Transportation Inc., a mid-size carrier based in Audobon, Minn. R&R will install Vistar Datacom terminals along with associated connections and monitoring service on 70 new refrigerated trailers and 10 dry vans during the first half of the year, R&R President Ryan Westlund told American Shipper.
   R&R offers nationwide truckload and less-than-truckload reefer service, with major lanes from Chicago to Los Angeles and the East Coast.
   Vistar has been recently active in the reefer transportation area. In January it said it received an initial order from reefer unit manufacturer Thermo King for 500 GlobalWave units.