Electronic seal technology for cargo containers is maturing, but standardization needs to take place before such seals can be widely used. Those were the findings of a study conducted by the Cargo Handling Cooperative Program (CHCP), which also noted that the group did not find any one type of e-seal suitable for use as a standard.

The CHCP, a partnership between the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration and private industry, compared five electronic security seals proposed for use on intermodal freight containers.

The CHCP report concluded that more than just electronic seals are needed to improve cargo security. "While e-seal technology was, in general, found to be mature and immediately applicable to container security, it was recognized that these devices alone would have only a limited impact in improving container security," the report says. "Future systems will certainly solve many of the problems by focusing on the entire container rather than just sealing the doors."

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