Tracking on tracks.(global Positioning System)

BYLINE: BY BILL DIBENEDETTO

ItOs a brave new world indeed when a cargo container can send you an e-mail that tells you where it is.

The Port of Tacoma is testing a global positioning system tracking device that could take supply-chain visibility for intermodal containers heading to the Midwest and the East Coast to a new level.

Robert Collins, the portOs manager of transportation and supply-chain planning, said the system is among the first N if not the first N developed for tracking containers inland on rail from a U.S. port.

The system allows Port of Tacoma intermodal planners to better understand inland rail issues and, ultimately, work with railroads and shippers to improve the …