2023 Year in Review:
Investing and Innovating for the Future

Following two years of record cargo volume in 2021 and 2022, fueled by rapid growth in e-commerce and a surge in U.S. imports, 2023 delivered a hard reset as trade volumes and port traffic fell sharply.

Despite the market correction and its associated challenges, there have been many positive outcomes. Congestion across the global supply chain began to ease and port fluidity began to improve, enabling companies across the intermodal industry to begin to position for the next cycle of growth.

As we head into 2024, we wanted to look back on some notable highlights for TRAC last year. We undertook initiatives to help us further improve how we do business and continued to solidify relationships with customers. We were honored to receive several industry awards and returned the favor by recognizing the vendors who have been so integral to our success over the years. Here are some signature developments during 2023 that are worth revisiting.

Accelerated Fleet Investment

Since 2016, TRAC has invested over $1 billion in fleet modernization. Despite the market reset in 2023, we have further accelerated investment in our chassis fleet. These efforts have encompassed adding new assets, refurbishing existing equipment, and innovating around our product offering to support customers. Even during 2023’s market correction, TRAC has not stopped investing which positions us well with asset availability when demand returns, most likely in the second half of 2024.

Major Commitment to Technology

TRAC is heavily investing in technology, including AI, to improve our service offerings and better manage operating costs which in turn helps us improve the customer experience. We believe we are one of the few companies in the intermodal sector deploying AI technology in this way.

TRAC completed its RoadStar AI project in February 2023. The RoadStar application improves and simplifies real-time customer access to emergency road service and online chassis booking on the back end. Participants gain access to greater visibility and tracking across all parties in the repair and equipment maintenance chains. The project leverages cutting-edge AI technologies to minimize maintenance and repair costs on a per-use-day basis.

TRAC is presently working on an enhanced front-end version of the app that we hope to unveil this year. This enhancement will let us look at idle equipment instead of managing manually to analyze repairs, oversee inventory and control M&R costs.

In addition, we continue to further our collaboration with global incubator ZEBOX which we initiated in early 2022. Working together, TRAC and ZEBOX are creating opportunities to help innovative start-ups test ideas to improve efficiencies to continue to accelerate the digital transformation of global supply chains.

Top Company for Women Recognition

In late October, TRAC was named a “2023 Top Company for Women to Work for in Transportation” by Redefining the Road, the official magazine of the Women in Trucking Association. This was the first year that TRAC received this award.

This recognition was based on TRAC’s culture of work/life balance, training and professional development, compensation and benefits, gender diversity, and career advancement opportunities. More than 27,000 transportation professionals chose winners from the nominated companies. EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer Laura Reeder accepted TRAC’s award at a November event in Dallas.

The honorees included a diverse range of companies in commercial freight transportation including motor carriers, third-party logistics companies and original equipment manufacturers.

COSCO SHIPPING Partner of Year

Another highlight for TRAC in 2023 was being named partner of the year by COSCO SHIPPING Lines North America. TRAC was one of four companies on which COSCO bestowed this honor.

Zheyu Chen, Chairman of COSCO NA, Inc., presented the award to TRAC President and CEO Daniel Walsh at a TPM23 event. Dan thanked Jake Gilene, Mary O’Neill Harding and Val Noel for their leadership with this important partner and noted that TRAC is well-positioned to expand its partnership with COSCO.

Vendor Appreciation Awards

Reflecting a commitment to its partners, TRAC held its “Vendor Award of Excellence” luncheon in December, celebrating its vendor relationships and recognizing those who have contributed to our success.

The event was held in Oak Brook, IL and opened with remarks from Dan. He recognized TRAC’s enduring relationships with its key vendors, some extending more than 40 years. He noted that TRAC considers many of its vendors as friends, knowing their families and being part of the same communities. He acknowledged that the intermodal industry has had its ups and downs, but its valued vendor relationships will endure forever.

He was especially thankful for partner contributions, helping keep TRAC’s best fleet running in optimal condition. TRAC EVP and COO Val Noel echoed Dan’s sentiments and expressed his gratitude to all vendors in attendance. The event was an enormous success and will help fuel strong collaboration and partnership with TRAC’s vendors into the future.

Industry Thought Leadership

During the course of 2023, TRAC developed a series of three in-depth feature articles that provide some historical context about TRAC, identify key industry trends and help frame our business: a white paper on the evolution of chassis pool models; a case study on TRAC’s fleet modernization to meet chassis supply challenges; and a blog post on how TRAC is looking at past supply chain challenges and chassis shortages to best ready for future demand needs.

The three articles spell out key initiatives that we are pursuing to drive our business forward. Collectively, this content series is a roadmap for our strategic approach, the actions we’re taking and the messaging we’re delivering to customers, business partners and other audiences.

Here are links to each article:

Evolution of chassis pool models
https://www.tracintermodal.com/blog/white-paper-the-evolution-of-chassis-pool-models

Fleet modernization case study
https://www.tracintermodal.com/blog/trac-intermodal-releases-case-study-on-fleet-modernization-to-meet-chassis-supply-challenges

Revisiting the past to meet future demand
https://www.tracintermodal.com/blog/revisiting-the-past-to-chart-future-chassis-growth

Summary

Despite the many hurdles before us in 2023, TRAC continued to drive forward. We invested in our business, capitalized on market opportunities, and doubled down on building relationships with customers. We were gratified that the industry recognized our pursuits, but we are even more appreciative of the many important contributions from our vendor partners, who keep our fleet running optimally. Many of these partnerships have endured for more than 40 years, which is a testament to the resilience of these collaborations. We believe that TRAC is stronger than ever and well-positioned for continued success in the coming year.

About TRAC Intermodal
TRAC Intermodal (tracintermodal.com) is North America’s leading marine chassis pool manager and equipment provider with 11 pools under management across the U.S. TRAC has the largest fleet of marine and specialty chassis in North America and operates an extensive network of facilities. TRAC also offers maintenance and repair services as well as storage and parking solutions through TRAC Services.

2023 Year in Review: Investing and Innovating for the Future