The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for customers to know exactly where their containers are at all times. Whether it was consumers sitting in the comfort of their homes awaiting goods ordered online or hospitals awaiting essential supplies to manage patients or supermarkets awaiting consumer goods to cater to the COVID-19 induced demand, everyone is keen on knowing where their goods are.
Hapag Lloyd, the world’s 5th largest container shipping line has announced that they will be introducing real-time monitoring of its ENTIRE container fleet.
“In 2019, we’ve already successfully introduced real-time monitoring for our reefer container fleet. Now with the IoT product Hapag-Lloyd LIVE, we’ll go one step further, and we’ll start to install newly developed devices to all standard containers of our entire three million TEU fleet.” said Hapag Lloyd on its LinkedIn page.
Once Hapag Lloyd’s LIVE becomes available in 2023, it will become the first major global container shipping line to offer this digital enhancement to customers.
Announcing their plan to digitalize container shipping further, Maximilian Rothkopf, COO of Hapag-Lloyd said
“Going forward, we will be able to provide all our customers with real-time track and trace data, giving them full visibility of any container movement worldwide. We will be able to detect delays earlier, inform impacted customers automatically and initiate counteractions at an early stage. We firmly believe that our real-time tracking approach will not only be beneficial for our customers but be a game changer for the entire container shipping industry”.
IoT devices can transmit data on a real-time basis from anywhere there is a cellular coverage including location, temperature changes, and any sudden shocks such as collisions which could lead to cargo damage. This could also be especially useful in maritime disasters such as containers falling into the sea.
A press release by Hapag Lloyd stated “The shipping container monitoring device integrates the latest energy harvesting technology and low-power consumption techniques to ensure ultra-long lifetimes with high-frequency data sending. The container fleet will be equipped with devices both from established TradeTech partner Nexxiot AG starting this summer as well as with devices from ORBCOMM, a global leader in Internet-of-Things solutions, starting later this year.”
“It is our vision to build the world’s smartest container fleet and to provide valuable information to our customers at the frequency they need” stated Olaf Habert, Director Container Applications at Hapag-Lloyd. “Working with the most advanced companies for global-scale IoT applications will help us to equip our container fleet as fast as possible. This is what our customers now require and increasingly expect so they can manage their complex supply chains better.”
This announcement presumably comes on the back of a hugely successful 2021 for Hapag Lloyd financially and in the face of a forecast for very strong earnings in the first half of 2022.
Hapag Lloyd announced an EBITDA of slightly more than USD 12.8 billion (approximately EUR 10.9 billion) in 2021 with a group net result of around USD 10.8 billion (EUR 9.1 billion).
“We look back on an exceptionally successful year in which we invested massively in modern vessels and new containers. In addition, we have significantly strengthened our financial and asset position.” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.
Looking forward, Hapag-Lloyd expects its earnings to be very strong in the first half of 2022 with EBITDA in the range of USD 12 to 14 billion (EUR 10.7 to 12.4 billion) and EBIT to be in the range of USD 10 to 12 billion (EUR 8.9 to 10.7 billion).
Step towards digitalization to the whole shipping market
It is going to be extremely interesting how the market reacts.