Matchback system launched in Benelux region

Subsidiary of Hutchison Ports developed a web-based tool to help trucks find containers headed back to the port after discharging import loads.    The global terminal operator Hutchison Ports has launched a new web-based tool to allow truckers in the Benelux region to perform matchbacks, where a single truck is used to move a container outbound from the port, and then returns with a separate container.
   The new company, Boxreload, is a division of Hutchison Ports (UK), which itself is a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings. Boxreload focuses on cooperation between trucking companies to share certain information and enable better planning, the company said.
   “It allows both trucking companies to protect revenues and cut costs,” said Andy Barker, general manager of Boxreload. “The advantage increases the more trucking companies get involved as more and more opportunities to reduce costs can be identified.”
   The tool has been co-financed by the European Union’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) program, and is being launched first in the Benelux area.
   “The concept has been proven in a pilot with several Rotterdam-based trucking companies,” Barker said. “We are now launching the project with 12 companies. We expect many more trucking companies to join in the coming months.
   Similar solutions have long been proposed in the United States, including by providers like SynchroNet and most recently MatchBack Systems.