Action Intel Delivers Tow Tracker, Weekly Reporting

By now, most maritime professionals have heard of Action Intel. The data software company is known for its BargeAI application, a program developed by Action Intel founder Dr. Susan Olson. An aerospace engineer by training, Olson’s passion for data science, predictive modeling and machine learning led her to develop BargeAI in 2023. The program has grown exponentially since its inception, and Action Intel has continued to expand with its new product, Tow Tracker.

“Over the past two years, in conjunction with BargeAI, the pieces have come together,” Olson said. “We’ve been testing models and testing signals. We were excited to get to a point with something we were ready to share with the market.”

BargeAI gives users access to tonnage information across the inland waterways, including tow dimensions, number of barges per tow and arrival times. Action Intel customers can use BargeAI to gather data on commodities, transits and more. BargeAI’s Lock Feature, which launched last year, gives users information regarding lock status and delay times as well as weekly tonnage data for grain cargo.

Tow Tracker works much the same way as BargeAI. Users can create their own fleet of vessels and make editing, tracking and tow details visible to others within their organization. Tow Tracker customers can also track the speed of vessels and receive updates on a boat’s destination and estimated time of arrival.

Like the main BargeAI interface, Tow Tracker displays towboat positions indicated by colored dots across a map of the inland waterways. Green dots depict active vessels, while blue dots show inactive ones. Users can zoom in to see specific areas in detail, favorite high-use regions and view surrounding vessels and their specifications, such as operating company, horsepower and active or inactive status.

“I think it helps both the carrier and commercial perspective,” Olson said. “It can be a point of communication between them. You don’t have to call all the time and see when a tow is going to arrive. We can do that. Where are you expecting it? We can tell you. I think we’ve gotten really good feedback from the market about accuracy.”

On January 7, Action Intel began treating customers to weekly data reports. The BargeAI Freight Forecast provides freight rate predictions using a linear forecasting model and USDA-reported freight values. The model shows a future forecast on cargo prices and barge flows and relies on current data rather than past price history and freight rates to make predictions.

“The number of variables is pretty small,” Olson said. “But we’re transparent about the models and what they say. Over time, if we find things to make it better, we’ll do it, but we’ll be very transparent with our clients.”

Like its applications, Action Intel’s weekly reports employ engaging and colorful graphs to easily communicate statistics to users. Line graphs and scatter plots depict tariff rates, estimated arrival times and barge flows.

Olson explained that mariners can use the weekly report to better understand trade routes and delivery efficiency.

“If I’m moving in a particular trade lane, how do my metrics compare to others?” Olson asked. “How many barges are they carrying? What is the transit time? How are they operating, and what are the turn times?”

Barge line and commercial commodity companies, especially individuals in supply chain management, are Action Intel’s primary customer base. Users can track river levels and use the provided data to better understand exporting delays and other supply chain changes.

“No price reporting is perfect,” Olson said. “You’re not going to get the effects of market sentiment. We don’t use previous price or last week’s this or that to inform what tomorrow is going to look like. Certainly, no model is perfect. We focus on the differences in how the market is working now rather than focusing on the past.”

Action Intel is constantly working with customers to understand how the company can improve its system. According to Olson, Action Intel focuses on pinpointing the biggest need while also paying attention to smaller requests. Oftentimes, the need being addressed is widespread throughout Action Intel’s customer base. Smaller, more unique inquiries are not ignored and are made alongside bigger updates, clustering correlating solutions.

“We try to make sure we’re cycling in user requests even if they’re small,” Olson said.

Action Intel also employs a camera system, which has been installed in Baton Rouge. Footage captures barge and vessel traffic to inform tow size analytics and quality checks. Action Intel intends to install more camera systems along the Mississippi River in the coming years.