Cool Cargoes

Savannah attracted the new service due to its growing third-party logistics network and proximity to East Coast and Midwest markets, allowing for quicker and fresher imports.

Investors aren’t lining up to sink money into aging facilities, given that warehouses built in the last 20 to 40 years require nearly 50% more energy consumption and double the maintenance costs than newbuilds.

The CMA CGM subsidiary’s latest acquisition will significantly increase its presence in South Asia that is growing in importance as supply chain routes shift across the region.

If the reefer mode can tough out the rest of 2023, next year should be better for operators largely because there will be more cargo, and therefore demand will be stronger, writes analyst Richard Bright.

Refrigerated warehousing construction is “exploding” in the US Southeast, as one port executive put it, thanks to a growing population and increased demand for imported produce and other food products.

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.

US exporters of refrigerated (reefer) cargo are facing costly delays in China and equipment shortages in the United States due to extended factory closures and limitations on worker movement caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Maersk, tapping its reefer capabilities, has linked up with an Indian ag group on a pilot program designed to boost the carrier’s integrated strategy.

Chicago-based startup Transship is teaming with TradeLens and other tech companies to create an automated shipping and forwarding platform for containerized perishables shipments.

The acquisition of Emergent Cold gives US-based Lineage Logistics greater access to Asian markets and facilities at three US ports.

The acquisition of two Van Soest Coldstores facilities complements Lineage’s existing network of refrigerated sites across Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK.

An Indian tech startup is luring reefer shippers with a digital platform as refrigerated cargo volumes in the country are on the upswing.

Continued depressed pricing has caused service levels in the refrigerated cargo market to deteriorate, but BCOs say there are other issues that need addressing as well.

Security and service problems face Mexico's intermodal sector as it seeks to expand its share of the reefer market.

Truck shortages, warehouse closures, and too many empty containers have exacerbated terminal and landside congestion.

After a subdued end to 2018 and trade and with economic hurdles stacking up, there are relatively low expectations for the trans-Pacific air cargo market in 2019.

CMA CGM (India) said the smart container was loaded onto the CMA CGM Tosca at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on Nov. 30, destined for Marseilles, France.

Market share remains in the single digits —both as a percentage of overall reefer imports and exports in the US and overall volumes within the individual ports — but the port authorities of Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia say the US Department of Agriculture clearance will open the door to even more business opportunities.

Every year, the expectation regarding “free” is that “free” gets faster and faster, and e-commerce players are a major factor. Thus, two-to-three-day click-to-delivery expectations are now the norm. And that’s upping delivery pressure on shippers.

The Lineage Cool Port Oakland cold storage facility offers direct access for up to 36 refrigerated rail box cars and also features 90 truck doors.

At issue is an effort by port employers to have deskbound longshoremen monitor the temperature of each reefer twice a day to ensure that it is at the correct temperature, instead of longshoremen physically walking up to each box, checking, and documenting the temperature on an iPad.