Union Pacific Railroad recently announced a significant advancement in its intermodal container program, introducing GPS-enabled containers and enhanced visibility tools to improve how customers track and manage their shipments.
Developed in partnership with Blume Global, part of CargoWise Landside, the initiative brings real-time location data, smarter alerts, and geofencing capabilities to one of the largest rail-owned container fleets in North America.
You can read the Union Pacific’s original announcement here.
At its core, the program reflects a broader shift underway across intermodal rail. Customers no longer want periodic status updates tied only to rail events. They expect continuous visibility, faster issue resolution, and greater confidence that their freight is moving securely and as planned.
As Kenny Rocker, Executive Vice President – Marketing and Sales at Union Pacific Railroad, explains, “By combining GPS-enabled containers with real-time data and smarter visibility tools, we’re providing the transparency and reliability our customers depend on.”
What’s driving the shift toward IoT-enabled intermodal visibility
Intermodal operations have traditionally relied on milestone-based updates, offering limited insight into what happens once a container leaves a terminal. This created gaps during street moves, at customer facilities, or while equipment sat idle between handoffs.
Union Pacific’s GPS-enabled EMP and UMAX container fleet addresses this challenge by embedding intelligence directly into the container itself. Instead of relying solely on scheduled rail events, customers now gain real-time insight into container location and movement throughout the journey.
This shift reflects a broader industry reality. Visibility is no longer a “nice to have.” It has become foundational to service reliability, asset utilization, and customer trust.
Turning IoT signals into actionable intelligence
IoT sensors generate massive volumes of raw data, but the real value comes from turning those signals into insights that operations teams and customers can actually use. That’s where Blume plays a critical role.
Blume’s IoT platform captures, normalizes, and distributes sensor data alongside rail and operational events, creating a unified, real-time view of container activity. Today, Blume processes 1.3 million IoT events per day, transforming location pings, status changes, and alerts into meaningful, actionable intelligence.
This enables capabilities such as:
- Real-time tracking beyond the rail ramp
- Smart geofencing to reduce street dwell and improve asset utilization
- Proactive alerts for load, empty, and location status changes
- API-driven integration into customer and partner systems
Rather than adding another standalone data feed, IoT visibility becomes part of the operational workflow.
A shared view across the intermodal ecosystem
One of the most important outcomes of Union Pacific’s GPS-enabled container program is that it aligns all stakeholders around the same real-time data, including railroads, IMCs, drayage providers, and shippers.
“It’s a win for everyone. Shippers get peace of mind and better service. IMCs gain better asset control and more accurate billing. Railroads get improved visibility into where their equipment is and how it’s being used. Everyone is working from the same real-time data”, said Chris Haas, Business Development Executive for Rail at Blume.
By reducing manual check-ins and fragmented communication, this shared data foundation supports faster decisions and smoother coordination across the network.
From location tracking to predictive visibility
The evolution doesn’t stop at knowing where a container is. With smart geofencing and sensor-driven alerts, the focus shifts from reactive tracking to proactive awareness.
Instead of asking “where is my container,” customers and operators can understand what’s happening, identify potential risks earlier, and take action before disruptions escalate. This approach improves security, protects sensitive cargo, and helps keep intermodal freight moving efficiently.
Raising the bar for intermodal visibility
Union Pacific’s GPS-enabled container program, supported by Blume’s IoT and intermodal intelligence platform, reflects a new standard for visibility in rail. It combines real-time data, operational context, and ecosystem-wide access to deliver the transparency and reliability today’s customers expect.
As intermodal networks continue to modernize, initiatives like this demonstrate how purpose-built technology and IoT intelligence can work together to drive better outcomes, not just for individual participants, but for the entire intermodal ecosystem.