Cool Cargoes

News and analysis of refrigerated (reefer) cargo transportation, rates, capacity, technology, equipment, lessors, providers

The latest Cool Cargoes News & Analysis

Current cold chain cannot cope with healthcare demands, DHL says

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | Jun 22, 2015, 11:28 PM EDT

The global healthcare transportation industry urgently needs a new generation of cold chains to cope with rapidly rising demand for pharmaceuticals, especially from emerging markets, and ever stricter compliance from regulators, according to a new study by DHL.
Cool Cargoes

Con-way's Lehmkuhl to join Lineage Logistics as CEO

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Jun 18, 2015, 12:45 PM EDT

The former president of Con-way Freight will lead one of the largest temperature-controlled logistics companies as demand for cold-chain services grows.
Logistics technologyCool Cargoes

CN expands refrigerated intermodal fleet as cold chain business grows

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Jun 1, 2015, 3:57 PM EDT

Canadian National Railway is buying more refrigerated intermodal equipment as the prospect of tighter regulation of food supply chains poses a challenge for shippers.
North-American railCool Cargoes

New services to heat up reefer cargo growth at Philadelphia port

JOC Staff | May 26, 2015, 4:27 PM EDT

After a double-digit gain in refrigerated container volume in the first quarter, the Port of Philadelphia is set to gain even more reefer traffic as a result of two new services to Latin America and possibly grab more U.S. East Coast market share.
North American portsCool Cargoes

Online fresh produce firm links up with China e-commerce giant

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | May 26, 2015, 1:59 AM EDT

China's largest fresh produce e-tailer, FruitDay, signed off on a $70 million tie-up with direct online sales giant JD.com in the single biggest e-commerce fresh produce deal made in the country so far.
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Shippers turn to any ship they can get for reefer capacity

Lara L. Sowinski | May 22, 2015, 9:56 AM EDT

It’s no secret that specialized carriers are losing refrigerated cargo market share to containerized carriers, but details about why it’s happening, how much cargo is really shifting and who ultimately will control which pieces of the market are less apparent.
Cool CargoesContainer lines

Savannah beefs up reefer capacity after strong 2014

JOC Staff | May 21, 2015, 2:39 PM EDT

The Port of Savannah is ramping up its refrigerated cargo capacity after substantial year-over-year growth in reefer cargo at the Georgia port.
North American portsCool Cargoes

Thermotraffic opens branch at Perishable Center Frankfurt

JOC Staff | May 15, 2015, 10:06 AM EDT

German freight forwarder Thermotraffic is expanding its network of temperature-controlled branches throughout Europe, with the latest addition at Frankfurt Airport’s Perishable Center Frankfurt.
Cool Cargoes

Port of Tilbury to expand refrigerated cargo capacity

JOC Staff | May 15, 2015, 9:59 AM EDT

An expansion project at the U.K.’s Port of Tilbury will add significant cold storage capacity when completed this year and rank as one of the largest reefer facilities in Europe.
Cool Cargoes

Frozen foods can cut waste, emissions, study finds

Lara L. Sowinski | May 14, 2015, 10:15 AM EDT

A study commissioned by the British Frozen Food Federation suggests frozen foods can help reduce waste and even greenhouse gas emissions.
Cool Cargoes

India sees big jump in banana exports

Lara L. Sowinski | May 14, 2015, 10:11 AM EDT

India produces about 30 percent of the world’s bananas, but poor post-harvest facilities and cold chain infrastructure means less than 1 percent make it to foreign markets. However, one fresh produce company, Pick N Serve Foods, is finding huge potential in exports, particularly to markets in Oman, Dubai, Qatar and Kuwait.
Cool Cargoes

Investments being made to build integrated cold chain

Lara L. Sowinski | May 13, 2015, 10:06 AM EDT

The global cold chain is in the midst of rapid expansion. Stakeholders view refrigerated cargo as a growing and profitable segment of their business and sizable investments are occurring on multiple fronts to build and strengthen the integrated global cold chain.
Cool Cargoes

Specialized reefer container handles flowers via rail

JOC Team | May 12, 2015, 2:12 PM EDT

Samskip and VGB — the Dutch Association of Wholesalers in Floricultural Products — tested a refrigerated rail shipment of plants from the Netherlands to Sweden using a new flora container developed by Rotterdam-based UNIT45.
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Port Tampa Bay plans new reefer warehouse

Lara L. Sowinski | May 12, 2015, 1:41 PM EDT

The Tampa Port Authority has approved a $20.8 million spending plan to build a new refrigerated warehouse in an attempt to win back perishable food shippers to Port Tampa Bay.
Cool Cargoes

New reefer ship design seeks to cut turnaround times, shipper costs

Lara L. Sowinski | May 8, 2015, 10:06 AM EDT

A new ship design could be just what the refrigerated shipping industry — and banana shippers, in particular — needs to remain in control of their supply chain.
Cool Cargoes

Machine-to-machine technology brings visibility to reefer shipments

Lara L. Sowinski | May 7, 2015, 2:29 PM EDT

The next frontier in refrigerated cargo visibility is here, and it doesn’t involve just tracking a container. No, the latest technology, made possible by machine-to-machine communication and the Internet of Things, not only allows for that, but also for controlling a container remotely to protect its contents throughout the journey, and for an interactive environment in which assets communicate with each other and exchange data.
Logistics technologyCool Cargoes

Intermodal reefer provider grows amid rail service challenges

Lara L. Sowinski | May 6, 2015, 4:39 PM EDT

Rail logistics provider Tiger Cool Express is making strides with equipment purchases and a growing customer base. Its success is all the more impressive given that service from Class I freight railroads experienced a difficult 2014 and continues to struggle. Cool Cargoes spoke with CEO Tom Finkbiner to get his take on where the intermodal rail industry is failing and how and where it can make improvements to better support time- and temperature-sensitive shipments such as fresh produce.
Intermodal providersCool Cargoes

Former Cold Train execs sue BNSF, alleging poor reliability caused company shutdown

Reynolds Hutchins, Associate Editor | Apr 8, 2015, 3:57 PM EDT

Former executives at a defunct refrigerated rail service have filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit against BNSF Railway, alleging the railroad’s failing service reliability and shirking of professional commitments drove the company out of business.
Intermodal providersCool Cargoes

Temperature-controlled cargo facility near Delhi opens

JOC Staff | Mar 25, 2015, 9:18 AM EDT

State-owned logistics provider Container Corporation of India has opened a $1.6 million temperature-controlled facility in Adarsh Nagar, near Delhi, the latest investment in line with parent Railways’ fiscal year 2015-16 budget plan announcement last month.
Industrial real estateCool Cargoes

Port of Rotterdam adding more than 6,000 reefer plugs

JOC Staff | Mar 5, 2015, 11:33 AM EST

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Expansion of refrigerated facilities builds worldwide

Lara L. Sowinski | Mar 4, 2015, 12:16 PM EST

The build-out of cold storage capacity is on fire around the world. From 2012 through 2014, total global capacity grew 20 percent to 552 million cubic meters, an increase of 92 million cubic meters in just two years, according to the 2014 IARW Global Cold Storage Capacity Report.
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Pharma, floral cold chains moving from air to ocean

JOC Staff | Mar 4, 2015, 12:03 PM EST

Drug giants AstraZeneca and Baxter are shifting more cold chain shipments from air to ocean, attracted by lower transportation costs, a reduced carbon footprint and mitigated security concerns, according to Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
Cool Cargoes

Tiger Cool Express expands intermodal reefer fleet

JOC Staff | Mar 3, 2015, 2:56 PM EST

North-American railCool Cargoes

New products, services aim to grow temp-sensitive air cargo

Lara L. Sowinski | Mar 3, 2015, 12:46 PM EST

With the air cargo industry under increasing competition from ocean carriers for certain cargoes, especially perishables, more sophisticated software and technology tools are helping drive the migration from ocean to air.
Air cargo carriersCool Cargoes

Cold chain plays supporting role in growing ag trade

Lara L. Sowinski | Mar 2, 2015, 11:49 AM EST

U.S. exports of agricultural goods have outpaced imports since 1960, generating a surplus in the nation’s farm trade and helping to “counter the persistent deficit in nonagricultural U.S. merchandise trade,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Much of the trade in this sector relies on an integrated global cold chain.
Cool Cargoes

Container, specialized carriers boost reefer investments

Lara L. Sowinski | Mar 1, 2015, 9:59 AM EST

Growth in the global reefer market this year will likely outpace the lukewarm performance of the past few years, according to industry analysts.
Cool CargoesContainer lines

Q&A: Klinge offers his views on reefer transport developments

Lara L. Sowinski | Feb 27, 2015, 2:11 PM EST

Cool Cargoes

Fresh food is high on China’s logistics menu

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | Dec 24, 2014, 8:47 AM EST

Fresh food is fast becoming the next e-commerce frontier in China, and the country-wide demand is driving the expansion of cold chain logistics in the mainland that has been a weak point for years.
Cool Cargoes

India’s Gati reports profit jump, plans for cold chain growth

JOC Staff | Nov 10, 2014, 11:51 AM EST

Gati Ltd., India’s leading express distribution and supply chain solutions company, reported its group net profit in the fiscal second quarter totaled about $2 million, a more than two-fold increase from the same period in 2013.
Logistics technologyCool Cargoes

Musgrave Retail Partners acquires Irish refrigerated specialist Allied Logistics

JOC Staff | Nov 8, 2014, 10:23 AM EST

European retail services company Musgrave Retail Partners expands refrigerated transportation services by acquiring Irish firm Allied Logistics.
Logistics technologyCool Cargoes

Japanese, Chinese companies team up to provide cold chain logistics in Asia

JOC Team | Nov 4, 2014, 2:41 PM EST

In an effort to tap growing Asian perishable demand, a Japanese logistics firm and a Chinese fishing company today joined to create a cold chain logistics provider that will serve China and then eventually Southeast Asia.
Cool Cargoes

Shippers turn to reefer rail more for capacity than savings

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Oct 30, 2014, 2:29 PM EDT

U.S. shippers’ increasing difficulties in finding long-haul trucks to move their loads is making intermodal rail, including the transport of refrigerated goods, more a “capacity play” than about saving money.
Intermodal providersCool Cargoes

Brazilian white meat exports to Russia soar

Rob Ward | Oct 30, 2014, 10:49 AM EDT

Russia, struggling after it enforced food embargoes on European Union countries, is ramping up its chicken imports from Brazil, registering a massive 291 percent year-over-year increase in imports of the white meat in September.
International portsCool Cargoes

Mexican produce exporters push ocean route to Philadelphia

Stephanie Nall | Oct 30, 2014, 9:59 AM EDT

A group of Mexican produce and meat exporters are sold on the idea of starting weekly ocean service between the ports of Veracruz, Mexico, and Philadelphia, saying it would be faster, cheaper and provide better security and cargo integrity than current trucking routes.
Cool Cargoes

BNSF’s suspension of Quincy intermodal service leaves ag shippers out in the cold

Stephanie Nall | Oct 29, 2014, 12:31 PM EDT

Fruit shippers in Central Washington hoping for refrigerated rail service to be reinstated at the Port of Quincy, Washington, have a long wait. After Cold Train suspended the reefer service, BNSF stopped any intermodal service to the port.
Intermodal providersCool Cargoes

New FDA rules could lead to rejected — and wasted— shipments

Stephanie Nall | Oct 28, 2014, 8:00 AM EDT

In its first attempt to regulate transportation-related food safety, the Food and Drug Administration has confused quality with safety, a move that could force the automatic rejection of countless loads and push cargo claims and insurance rates up sharply, shippers, carriers and industry associations say.
Transport, trade and regulationCool Cargoes

Commodities shift around world in dealing with Russia’s embargo

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor | Oct 24, 2014, 11:51 AM EDT

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 Cargoes

Chiquita, Fyffes outline cost savings from proposed merger

Stephanie Nall, Cool Cargoes Editor | Oct 23, 2014, 11:18 AM EDT

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 Cargoes

Reefers to dominate China-Europe rail routes

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | Oct 15, 2014, 6:26 AM EDT

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 Cargoes

Drewry: Specialized reefer ships down, not out

Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Sep 22, 2014, 11:06 AM EDT

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 Cargoes