Cool Cargoes

Refrigerated container trade was muted in 2022 due to high costs and poor service, but ocean carriers appear keen to serve those markets in 2023 now that dry cargo rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The specialized reefer fleet has proven to be remarkably resilient in the face of various challenges, but now it must deal with the latest threat in the form of new IMO environmental regulations.

The Port of Savannah says plans for additional reefer rack capacity will add to its market share for cold chain imports coming into the US Southeast and Gulf Coast.

The strong likelihood of continued growth in the reefer trade creates questions about supply meeting demand given recent world events and the potential upstream production dependencies linked to raw material sourcing.

Lineage Logistics is acquiring MTC Logistics, a cold storage operator with warehouses at the ports of Baltimore, Wilmington, Delaware, and Mobile.

Shypple has acquired a perishables competitor that it says will expand its geographic presence in Latin America and Asia, while giving it a leg up on other digital forwarders.

Shippers are increasingly able to gain visibility into in-transit freight, even for time- and/or temperature--sensitive cargo being carried in specialized refrigerated containers, courtesy of new technology.

Sustained strong import volumes from Asia and tight capacity have forced perishable food importers and exporters to compete with dry goods shippers for space and equipment.

US seafood exporters are among the hardest hit by stricter COVID-19 testing requirements in China that some shippers have decried as non-tariff trade barriers.

There’s debate about how much of a knock-on effect COVID-19 vaccine distribution could have on other types of cargoes, but US shippers are cautioned to plan for some disruption.

The pandemic has increased food insecurity in many countries, while some buyers ordering more inventory to hedge against potential supply chain disruptions and bottlenecks.

Sensing potential scalability factors, a handful of Indian domestic cold chain solutions providers have already trained their sights on what could be a tough, but lucrative, market for them.

While much of the wholesale and institutional food business remains depressed, foodservice distributors are finding new opportunities to add value to the food supply chain, such as helping restaurant customers open pop-up shops and online marketplaces.

Food logistics providers increasing their offerings in the "new" last-mile — from restaurants and grocery stores to consumers' homes — as demand for online grocery shopping and direct-to-consumer food delivery skyrockets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The turmoil unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic has barely subsided, evidenced by numerous reports of service failures that continue to come in from stakeholders throughout the food supply chain.

While food service and the retail grocery sectors adapt to new pandemic-linked realities, consumers’ food preferences remain unchanged.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak will distort container flows and global equipment fleet balance for at least another 90 to 120 days, according to Gregory Tuthill, chief commercial officer at SeaCube Containers.

The Chinese government says it will take “strong measures” to ensure supply chain fluidity for refrigerated (reefer) food products, but US exporters must wait for factories to reopen and ships to begin leaving China again.

US refrigerated (reefer) shippers reported improved service from ocean carriers in 2019, but equipment issues and other uncertainties could impact cold chains this year.

PortMiami won a $44 million federal grant which will be used to improve the cold chain cargo facilities to handle temperature-controlled food, and perishables such as flowers.