IMC selling SmartStacks as smart approach to container piles

Drayage company app designed to help drivers locate and deliver specific boxes

Drivers using the SmartStacks app receive destination information and decide whether to drop the container there or at the nearest depot. (Photo: IMC)

IMC Companies is touting its SmartStacks app as “the biggest breakthrough in drayage since the container.” 

SmartStacks is IMC’s proprietary approach to the “peel pile” process and is designed to increase cargo movement and driver productivity, decrease container dwell times and loosen supply chain bottlenecks. 

Collierville, Tennessee-based IMC, with its fleet of trucks and chassis and integrated network of smart depots, moves cargo to and from all major rails and ports in the country. 

IMC explained that in a traditional peel pile process, drivers pull up to the indicated stack and take the top container instead of waiting for a specific box that could be anywhere in the pile. Using the SmartStacks app, drivers can instantly see a specific container’s destination and deliver it to that location or a nearby IMC depot.

“With this new methodology, IMC has tripled driver productivity, eliminated wasted lifts and made cargo more accessible,” the drayage company said in a news release. “The process has decreased container dwell time from 12 days to under two days and has reduced fuel usage and truck emissions by cutting idling time by 67%. In addition, SmartStacks improves chassis utilization and facilitates empty container returns.” 

Mason George, IMC’s president of national accounts, said the SmartStacks process “not only gets containers out of the gate faster, it gives drivers the freedom to choose based on their own schedule and hours, provides the speed, attention and faster throughput at port facilities and improves the environmental impact caused by idling vehicles. 

“For these reasons, we consider SmartStacks to be the biggest breakthrough in drayage since the container.” 

Port of Savannah launches Navis terminal operating system

Performance Team breaks ground on South Carolina cold chain facility

Trailer Bridge, Jaxport sign $62M terminal lease agreement

Click here for more American Shipper/FreightWaves stories by Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills.

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
Compliance

Brokerage Compliance Symposium

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Awards

F3 Awards Dinner

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Compliance Brokerage Compliance Symposium Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
Awards F3 Awards Dinner Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now

Kim Link Wills

Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills has written about everything from agriculture as a reporter for Illinois Agri-News to zoology as editor of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Her work has garnered awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Prior to serving as managing editor of American Shipper, Kim spent more than four years with XPO Logistics.