Smart Trailer Technology Reshapes Trucking Operations
Hendrickson Panel Touts Fleet Maintenance, Data Management
Key Takeaways:
- Smart trailer technology can dramatically improve all aspects of a trucking fleet's operations.
- Data gleaned from brakes and tires can provide crucial data that helps fleets avoid inspection violations.
- Ensuring shop technicians are current on the latest technology is critical.
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CANTON, Ohio — Smart trailer technology is evolving to cater to a fleet’s needs and can dramatically improve all aspects of its operations.
An expert panel, hosted by Hendrickson, discussed the benefits of smart trailers during the heavy-duty truck suspension manufacturer’s media day event Nov. 13.
The panel, consisting of leaders from , , Advanced Transportation Technology and, addressed the advancements and challenges the industry faces and the role smart trailer technology will play in the future.
Matt Wilson, vice president and general manager of vehicle technology at Hendrickson, which is focused on tire inflation systems and battery controls, said the division allows the company to be more sophisticated with its products surrounding trailers.
“We’ve spent a lot of time on pneumatic systems and pneumatic controls, and now we’re trying to expand our reach and breadth into port sensor-related technology and being able to provide data and actionable insights to users moving forward,” he said.
Mark Wallin, general manager and senior vice president of product for Phillips Connect, explained smart trailer technology, in general, is leaning toward more sensors on trailers, aiming to provide powerful insights to technicians, drivers and back-office personnel.
More Sensors on Trailers
“The part that makes it smart is when you bring that all together and create insights to the right stakeholders,” he said, describing it as a collection of technologies supported by “smart” pillars. “It is really where the industry is focused on in terms of bringing better insight [and] better sensors to drive better decisions.”
As the technology expands, so does the amount of data. Lawrence Bader, retired UPS global fleet systems director, currently with Advanced Transportation Technology, emphasized that there’s actionable data available to drivers, dispatchers and technicians. From the fleet maintenance perspective, brakes and tires provide valuable data points for technicians, he said.
Data From Brakes and Tires
“This is from the inspection [violations] on brakes and tires. [They] are the most important aspects,” he said, adding that tire pressure monitoring systems and automatic tire inflation systems also contain critical information. “You have to put [the technology] in their hands.”
Atlanta-based UPS Inc. ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
Adding to the fleet side, Jason Theis, fleet maintenance manager-trailers with Anderson Trucking Service, said the main takeaways from implementing its tire-inflation system was the reduction of CVSA violation scores and providing systematic tire maintenance.
Education Gap Remains
ATS saw a sizable decline in under-inflation violations, he noted, however, there is still a large education gap regarding maintenance and repair. Theis explained that some shops with limited knowledge on TPMS and ATIS are ill equipped during a tire breakdown, for instance.
“Educating people in the shop and also over the road [on TPMS and ATIS] is important,” he said. “Coupled with those technologies in the telematics side, we can have a visual [on the road] and see what the PSI is at any given moment of time.”
Anderson Trucking Service, based in St. Cloud, Minn., ranks No. 32 on the for-hire TT100.
Phillips Connect’s Wallin said that one of the many challenges in implementation is managing data to create actionable insight.
Data Management Is Crucial
“There’s a new technology being added in every part of the trailer, and with all that great, new technology and new insight, you got to get it to the right place,” he explained, adding that fleets need to prioritize their information technology investments to effectively use the data.
“[Fleets] should start building a lot of technology themselves, bit by bit, for their brakes, for their tires, for their lights … everything they have,” Wallin said. “Or they can start to do platforms that simplify that investment in advance to make it easier and simpler.”
He explained that while some fleets have the bandwidth for an IT investment, others should consider outsourcing. “So that’s really where we’ve been focused on … how to help solve that challenge with technology.”Which Data Is Most Critical?
Hendrickson’s Wilson said the difficulty in accessing the massive amounts of information is deciphering what is critical data.
“How do you make sure that you’re only paying attention to the critical issues with your equipment?” he asked. “Otherwise, you can get inundated with problems that could be worked on down the road.”
Wilson said that, in addition to underlying components, Hendrickson has focused on edge computing, the processing of data directly on the vehicle using IoT devices and sensors versus sending it all to the cloud. He said the goal is to reduce information overload to focus on more critical events.
Reduce Information Clutter
“Let’s try to make sure that the information we identify are actual issues and action items that we can hand off to telematics systems to then communicate to the back office,” he said.
Advanced Transportation Technology’s Bader added that a major trend for 2026 will be the impact of AI as it becomes more “physics-based.”
“Physics-based AI will actually be able to dig into and predict component failure, or get us to predicted maintenance,” he said. “It will get us away from time-to-miles-based maintenance, and actually go on condition-based and understand where the problems really are.”
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