This transaction set communicates automatic equipment identification data for transportation assets, typically sent by railroads, intermodal operators, or equipment tracking systems to customers, freight forwarders, or regulatory agencies. It provides detailed information about identified equipment and its operational status. The BAX (Beginning Segment for Advance Consist and Transportation Automatic Equipment ID) segment initiates the message and establishes its context, while the AES (Automatic Equipment Identification Site Information) segment specifies the location where equipment was identified. Within the mandatory EI loop, the EI (Automatic Equipment Identification) segment records each piece of identified equipment, and optional DTM (Date/Time Reference) segments capture when identification occurred. Supporting segments such as QTY (Quantity) and MEA (Measurements) provide supplementary operational data about the equipment.

For example, when BNSF Railway identifies a consist of containers at its Englewood yard using automated tag readers, it generates an X12 160 transaction to send to J.B. Hunt Transport Services. The BAX segment marks this as an equipment identification report dated January 15, 2024, and the AES segment identifies the Englewood facility as the reading location. Within the EI loop, each container receives an EI segment recording its unique tag number, followed by QTY segments documenting the weight and DTM segments recording the exact time each tag was read. If any equipment’s transponder status has changed, a TSI (Automatic Equipment Tag Status Information) segment within the nested loop captures that status information. This enables J.B. Hunt to reconcile its fleet records and confirm asset location in real time.