Cool Cargo News

The Journal of Commerce’s reefer shipping news and analysis covers refrigerated cargo transportation, rates, reefer cargo weight capacity, technology, equipment, lessors and providers.

The latest Cool Cargo News News & Analysis

Commodities shift around world in dealing with Russia’s embargo

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
Russia's ban on food imports from a number of Western countries has created new shipping opportunities; fruits and vegetables traditionally supplied by European producers are being replaced by suppliers from other countries.
International portsCool Cargo News

Chiquita, Fyffes outline cost savings from proposed merger

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
Chiquita International and Irish banana seller Fyffes are busy wooing shareholders, saying the synergies of a combined company would result in $60 million in annual savings, much of it from lower transportation and fuel bills.
Container linesCool Cargo News

Reefers to dominate China-Europe rail routes

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
Reefer containers will form a huge part of the cargo carried on the New Silk Way rail network between China and Europe, even though shippers will be forced to counter the extreme temperatures found on the route.
International railCool Cargo News

Drewry: Specialized reefer ships down, not out

Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor |
Container lines will continue to expand their share of the refrigerated cargo market, but specialized reefer carriers can survive if they diversify and pick their niches carefully, Drewry Maritime Research says in its annual analysis of the reefer shipping market.
ForwardingCool Cargo News

Rising demand to ramp up reefer box capacity, Drewry says

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
An estimated 300,000 40-foot reefer containers are expected to be added to the global fleet by 2018 as strong demand for perishables drives the business and improving technology enables their long distance transport.
Container linesCool Cargo News

Reefer volumes on the rise as Asia fills its fruit basket

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
Blueberries, strawberries, cherries, avocados, durian — markets across Asia are filled with fruits regardless of the season, serving a fast-rising demand that is being driven by urbanization, increasing wealth and improving refrigeration technology.
Cool Cargo NewsMaritime

Baltic Reefers acquires NYK’s reefer division

Grace M. Lavigne, Associate Web Editor |
Baltic Reefers will acquire NYKCool from NYK Reefers, the refrigerated shipping segment of Japanese shipping giant NYK Line on Sept. 1.
Breakbulk carriersCool Cargo News

Portland to end reefer agreement with ILWU

JOC Team |
The Port of Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 22 announced the cancellation of a contract covering two reefer jobs with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, citing dips in productivity at its Terminal 6 facility.
Longshore laborCool Cargo News

Ryder Europe adds refrigerated trailers in Europe as demand rises

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
As global demand for refrigerated transport service rises, Ryder Europe is adding more temperature-controlled trailers to its rental fleet in the United Kingdom.
Trucking NewsCool Cargo News

Drewry: Container ship reefer capacity up, specialized fleet down through 2018

Grace M. Lavigne, Associate Web Editor |
Refrigerated capacity in the container ship fleet is expected to surge around 22 percent through 2018, at the expense of a declining specialized reefer fleet, according to Drewry’s latest Reefer Shipping Market Annual Review & Forecast.
ForwardingCool Cargo News

US refrigerated rail operators confident despite Cold Train’s death by rail delays

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Despite the loss of a refrigerated rail pioneer, other operators say they are still growing and that they’re better shielded from poor rail performance than Cold Train was.
Rail NewsCool Cargo News

Cold Train ends intermodal service, citing poor BNSF performance

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Cold Train, a provider of refrigerated intermodal transport from Washington state throughout the rest of the country, has ended service, citing poor BNSF Railway performance.
Intermodal providersCool Cargo News

Online grocery sales whet appetites; high costs curb growth

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
A number of new online grocery ventures are now available, using a variety of logistics models. "They all understand that there is a cost to same-day delivery," says Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group.
Cool Cargo News

Infrastructure program could heat up India’s cold chain growth

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
More than $15 billion will be spent on expansion of India’s cold chain during the next five years, according to a study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Cool Cargo NewsIndustrial Real Estate News

US fruit imports moving south

JOC Staff |
With the pending expansion to the Port of Savannah of a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program, three southern U.S. ports will be able to receive South American blueberries and grapes.
North American portsCool Cargo News

US states target cold-chain transport violations

JOC Staff |
Some U.S. states aren’t waiting for federal rules but are increasing inspection and enforcement actions related to temperature-controlled transport on their own.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsCool Cargo NewsTrucking News

Weekly freighter service flies live lobsters to Korea

JOC Staff |
An increasing Asian appetite for live lobster is being met with a weekly shipment of live lobsters from Nova Scotia to South Korea.
Air Cargo Carriers NewsCool Cargo News

Researchers target ways for world’s farmers to stem food loss

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
According to the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization, enough food is grown worldwide to feed everyone on the planet. The trick is to make sure food doesn’t disappear before consumption because of waste or post-harvest loss, that it can be transported where it’s needed and that the population with the food deficit can afford to pay.
Cool Cargo News

Wal-Mart turns attention to reducing food waste

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
As the world's largest corporation, Wal-Mart holds hefty leverage over its vendors. Its next mission is to eliminate waste within its massive system, even on food, and vendors are taking note.
Cool Cargo News

Breakbulk carrier Seatrade orders container ships

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
A specialized reefer carrier is taking steps to renew its aging breakbulk fleet by purchasing two new container vessels.
Container linesCool Cargo News

DHL, Cyroport chase hot demand for deep-frozen shipping

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
Refrigerated just isn’t cold enough for some shippers, especially those moving extremely temperature-sensitive life sciences or medical products.
Logistics Technology NewsCool Cargo News

Yusen Logistics launches Indochina LTL service

Grace M. Lavigne, Associate Web Editor |
Yusen Logistics has expanded its cross-border trucking services for Indochina with the launch of a temperature-controlled less-than-truckload service for food products moving between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Logistics Technology NewsCool Cargo NewsLTL

AGRO targets reefer expansion

Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor |
AGRO Merchants Group has been building its portfolio of temperature-controlled warehouse and distribution facilities at nine U.S. and European locations, and CEO Neal Rider says there’s more to come.
Cool Cargo News

Charleston adds cold-storage capacity

Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor |
Three companies this month have announced investments in temperature-controlled facilities near the Port of Charleston.
North American portsCool Cargo News

With Eye on Meat Imports, New Orleans Cold Storage Expands in Charleston

Grace M. Lavigne, Associate Web Editor |
New Orleans Cold Storage has plans to more than double the size of its existing storage space at the Port of Charleston, South Carolina.
Industrial Real Estate NewsCool Cargo News

Produce Demand Powers Reefer Trucking Rate Increases

JOC Team |
Dry van and flatbed spot market truck rates remained steady this week, while refrigerated trucking rates continued their upward trend.
TruckloadCool Cargo News

Cold Storage Expanding by Leaps and Bounds

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
Growth at North America’s two largest cold storage companies has mushroomed in recent years, with both looking at overseas opportunities.
Industrial Real Estate NewsCool Cargo News

Reefer Trucking Remains Province of Small Carriers

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
Trucking is a notoriously fragmented business. The Department of Transportation estimates there are 500,000 trucking companies in the U.S., with 97 percent of them operating 20 trucks or less.
TruckloadCool Cargo News

Warehouse Choice? It’s Personal

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
While some cold storage companies are growing rapidly, the head of one midsize warehouse company says that doesn’t apply throughout the industry.
Industrial Real Estate NewsCool Cargo News

Aggressive Marketing Puts Latin Foods on Asian Tables

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
The world’s economic focus during the 1980s and 1990s was trained on the Asian Tigers of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Now Argentina’s top agricultural official says the focus is about to shift south.
Cool Cargo News

Reefers on Barges? You Bet, in California

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
Meat and produce exporters looking to bypass California’s 22-metric-ton weight limit on over-the-road shipments soon may be able to ship overweight containers to the Port of Oakland by barge.
Container linesCool Cargo News

Shifting Tastes, Politics Challenge Fast-Food Chains

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
In 1988, when the Berlin Wall was still standing and Russia was still a part of the Soviet Union, McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Moscow. The first of the chain’s restaurants to open inside a communist country, it drew crowds and global attention. Today, McDonald’s has 35,000 restaurants in more than 100 nations.
Cool Cargo News

US Meat Exports Lifted by Growth in Mexico Trade

Grace M. Lavigne, Associate Web Editor |
Despite growing concerns about tight supplies and rising prices, U.S. red meat exports performed well in February...
Container linesCool Cargo News

Orbcomm Buys Euroscan, Expands Reefer Business

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
Orbcomm, a global wireless asset-tracking company, has acquired Euroscan, expanding its product line and ability to track refrigerated containers and trailers worldwide.
Logistics Technology NewsTrucking NewsMaritimeCool Cargo News

US Red Meat Exports Could Face ‘Challenges’ in 2014

Grace M. Lavigne, Associate Web Editor |
U.S. red meat exports kicked off 2014 on a “positive note,” although market conditions suggest the year ahead could be “challenging,” according to statistics...
Container linesCool Cargo News

Overcapacity a Prospect for Reefer Container Shipping in 2014

Lara L. Sowinski |
Overcapacity is a threat to container lines’ refrigerated cargo segment this year, despite projected growth in the global reefer market, according to Peter Frederiksen, a member of the executive board of Hamburg Süd.
Cool Cargo News

Global Food Supply Chain Impacted by US Safety Legislation

Lara L. Sowinski |
The U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act has impacted the global food supply chain and, by extension, global reefer carriers too.
Cool Cargo News

Acquisition Will Fuel Cold Train Reefer Fleet Expansion

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
A Michigan-based company has acquired the operator of a refrigerated intermodal rail service, known as ColdTrain, and plans to at least triple Rail Logistics’ container fleet over the next five years.
Intermodal providersCool Cargo News

Slight Growth Forecast for Reefer Container Cargo

Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor |
Forecasters expect modest growth in U.S. and global shipments of refrigerated cargoes in containers.
ForwardingCool Cargo News

Airports Boosting Investment in the Cold Chain

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor |
On a recent day in mid-December, two 747 freighters flew into MidAmerica St. Louis Airport loaded with 250,000 pounds of Chilean blueberries. Just days later, another 160,000 pounds of the fruit landed at the airport.
Air Cargo Forwarder NewsCool Cargo News