TransCore, the largest global manufacturer of transportation-based radio frequency identification (RFID) products, completes the acquisition of IntelliTrans, a pre-eminent track and trace software platform for the rail and intermodal industry. TransCore will combine IntelliTrans' in-transit visibility, maintenance, repair, yard, and inventory management service offerings with TransCore's RFID and satellite communications products.

According to Business Wire, the combination will provide seamless integration for rail, truck, container, Barge, and intermodal applications. IntelliTrans will continue to be based in Atlanta and day-to-day contacts will remain the same. Value of the deal was undisclosed.

Managing rail car assets represents a large expense for the world's leading bulk commodity companies, ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. A rail car alone costs over $100,000, with most companies managing an inventory of 500 to 20,000 rail cars. Consequently, visibility into location, status of a load, maintenance, or avoiding sitting empty in a rail yard poses an extraordinary communication process among multiple systems.

"TransCore's 'front-end' data capture technologies combined with IntelliTrans' 'back-end' inventory tracking services is a natural fit," explained John Worthington, president of TransCore. "Bringing together two essential functions within the logistics process and eliminating gaps in the supply chain will expedite the flow of valuable data and further enhance asset utilization."

In North America alone 100 percent of all railcars in interchange service are required to be equipped with TransCore's tags. In the early '90s the Association of American Railroads adopted TransCore's Amtech brand of RFID technology as the standard for automatic equipment identification (AEI). Now, throughout the world and spanning five continents, TransCore has installed more than 6.5 million tags and 20,000 readers throughout the rail and intermodal industry.

Richard M. Gerstein, IntelliTrans founder, added, "While IntelliTrans has matured and excelled over the past 14 years, the opportunity to join forces with a larger, transportation-focused organization provides our customers with a much broader range of products, services and technical resources."

Through this acquisition, TransCore will also merge its Atlanta-based CarrierPoint organization, which provides Web-based transportation management systems, into the IntelliTrans reporting structure.