Blockchain is in the process of revolutionizing several industries. Real estate, medical research, green energy, the job market — all of these fields are sluggish and inefficient. Blockchain’s unique transparency allows professionals in these industries to streamline their operations, communicating efficiently and holding one another accountable.

The shipping industry needs blockchain, too. It’s a very centralized business, where brokers withhold crucial information that forces shippers and carriers to rely on them. High margins incentivize brokers to schedule routes without regard for pragmatism, so vehicles drive approximately 30 billion miles every year partially full or outright empty. Not only does this waste time and gas, but it also wastes billions of dollars.

There is no escaping the terrestrial freight industry. Trucks haul 70 percent of our overland goods, making it the lifeblood of American commerce. Because of its pervasiveness, everyone — especially people involved in the industry — is growing frustrated. Trucking is long overdue for a solution, so Fr8 Network is ready to provide one.

Decentralizing the industry

The freight industry employs 8.9 million people, and 3.5 million of them are drivers. The workers oversee approximately 15.5 million trucks (2 million are tractor trailers), and along with shippers, they’re frustrated with the industry’s inefficiency before anyone else.

The life of a truck driver is an arduous one. Increasing limitations on their workable hours — no more than 11 per day within a 14-hour workday, with an off-duty period of at least ten consecutive hours — elongates trip times, so many drivers spend little time at home. Frequent delays exacerbate their frustrations. A driver named Brian Kunkel from Minnesota says, “I have more anxiety now because I only have so much time to drive. If you are held up at a shipper’s for so long, you have no time to eat or shower before you have to start looking for somewhere to park because of the 14-hour clock.”

Drivers don’t always have a choice of when to drive, either. If a broker says go, they have no option but to trust the broker and do so. Blockchain technology, however, can eliminate intermediaries. Our digital Fr8 Board displays locations, prices, schedules, reputations, payments, loads, and more, allowing shippers and carriers (and brokers — they will not be removed, but their duties will change) to access data that was previously unavailable to them.

This way, drivers and manufacturers can connect with each other directly in their respective areas. Our rating system will incentivize parties to prevent delays, but if they happen, everyone involved will be aware of it and can plan accordingly.

Preventing theft

The average trailer load value is $120,000 — but about 220 loads are stolen every quarter. Tracking technology is essential for finding missing cargo, but Theodore Wlazlowski, general manager and vice president of supply chain integrity at CalAmp, says that thieves “look for activity to engage in that is the least risky, and they do that by gathering intelligence. It’s still true that a load at rest is a load at risk. The better you protect your processes, the less you risk. Start with that and then surround what you’re doing with actionable intelligence.”

Our platform helps freight professionals monitor where their loads are. In the case of a fictitious pickup, someone can alert law enforcement, and then immediately notify all relevant parties of the theft. Thieves are consistently devising new methods to defeat security systems, but the presence of a blockchain-based system will deter them from abducting well-overseen cargo. Carriers can also adjust route plans while accounting for previous thefts and dangerous “hot-spots.”

Environmental impact

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, 15 to 25 percent of US trucks on the road are empty at any given time, and vehicles are 36 percent underutilized. Truck movement is responsible for seven percent of all corporate greenhouse gas emissions, so capturing even half of the underutilized capacity will reduce freight truck emissions by 100 million tons per year. Our platform will remove the persistence of needless routes, helping professionals arrange to have full loads.

Blockchain is well on its way

TechCrunch notes that for a blockchain solution to gain complete adoption in the trucking industry, three things need to happen: everyone must trust the blockchain as the single source of truth, small carriers and shippers must participate en masse, and everybody must embrace data standardization. The whole industry is itching for a change, so we do not imagine it will take long for anyone to accept a blockchain solution. We at Fr8 Network have prepared that solution, so we are ready to revolutionize the cornerstone of the American economy.