A third of trucks leaving Singapore’s ports were empty — AI helped cut that number in half

A third of trucks leaving Singapore’s ports were empty — AI helped cut that number in half


Singapore’s trucking industry has long been weighed down by manpower shortages, high operational costs and wasted trips. Here’s how artificial intelligence helped change that.

Efficiency should be everything at one of the world’s busiest shipping hubs. 

And yet, for years, Singapore’s haulier industry has been weighed down by manpower shortages, high operational costs and wasted trips. Up to 35% of trucks leaving the port were empty, burning fuel and wasting resources.

A partnership between port operator PSA International and Dutch multinational HERE Technologies has tackled the problem by leveraging artificial intelligence.

“For complex operations like this, one of the fundamental problems is efficiency. Our shared vision is to provide efficiency, reduce cost or the downtime where there are empty containers or empty trucks,” said Abhijit Sengupta, general manager for Southeast Asia and India at HERE Technologies.

Using automation and real-time route optimization, empty trips have been nearly halved.

“OptETruck is a transport management solution, which addresses the trip planning, the trip execution, all the way up to invoicing and billing,” said Sriram Ramanujam, the vice president for digital products at PSA Southeast Asia.

More than 400 trucks have been onboarded, covering nearly 20% of Singapore’s haulage market.

So, what could this mean for the future of logistics? Watch the full video to see how AI is changing the way goods move.

For information on CNBC’s Converge Live event which takes place in Singapore 12-13 March 2025, visit: www.cnbc.com/converge-live/ 



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