In this week’s CCJ Tech Shorts, we’ll take a look at NMFTA’s new online tool, a new app for battery management and ATRI’s research priorities for 2025.
• The National Motor Freight Traffic Association has launched a new, web-based National Motor Freight Classification Item Lookup Tool designed to help shippers and 3PL professionals quickly check whether their freight item numbers are impacted by the 2025 NMFC updates that take effect July 19.
The NMFC Item Lookup Tool was created in direct response to feedback from the industry requesting an easier, faster way to navigate updates. With thousands of items in the NMFC and significant changes planned for July, NMFTA recognized that stakeholders needed a no-frills way to check item status without logging in or scanning a lengthy supplement.
Available for a limited time, the tool is free and easy to use, but users must share their contact information and email to get started. Users can enter NMFC item numbers to instantly see if they are subject to change under the upcoming update.
• Heavy duty truck drivers and fleet operators using Android devices can now seamlessly monitor and manage their Battle Born smart battery systems with the newly released Battle Born mobile app, available on the Google Play Store. The iOS version remains available on the Apple App Store.
The app is designed to support batteries equipped with Dragonfly IntelLigence, the company’s proprietary smart battery technology. It delivers real-time data, system alerts, historical performance insights, and diagnostic capabilities to help users optimize their power systems.
For long-haul truck drivers relying on Battle Born lithium batteries to power sleeper cabs, inverters, HVAC systems, and other hotel loads, the Android app offers real-time system insights, performance diagnostics, and troubleshooting tools — all from the convenience of a smartphone. Users gain visibility into battery health, voltage, temperature, state of charge, and more.
• The American Transportation Research Institute has identified its top research priorities for 2025, and several items on the list are technology related.
Among its top priorities are rising insurance costs and self-insurance motivations, efficacy of entry-level driver training on safety outcomes, safety impacts of in-cab monitoring, capitalizing on telematics data, and understanding the prevalence and impact of cabotage violations.
Prior ATRI research focused on driver perspectives of in-cab monitoring systems, specifically driver-facing cameras, as more fleets have turned to these systems to better understand driver behavior. This new research will collect confidential in-cab technology data to identify any statistical relationship between in-cab monitoring systems and improvements in safety outcomes. The research will also map specific carrier and driver strategies for managing in-cab data that improve safety outcomes.
Telematics technologies have been available to the trucking industry for several decades for asset tracking and driver communications, but today's telematics deliver expanded functionalities, including vehicle performance and maintenance, and safety and compliance monitoring. However, not all carriers are equipped to fully leverage evolving telematics data to improve operations. This research will create a compendium of data tools and applications for carriers of all sizes to better utilize telematics to improve operational performance.
