Refrigerated freight

The Stockout: Reefer capacity tightens in Northeast

It is becoming increasingly difficult to source transportation out of the Northeast. Over the past month, reefer capacity has become easier to source across the country due to seasonal trends along with absolute capacity beginning to return to the market.

“Historically, it’s usually easier to source capacity during the first quarter than it is the fourth quarter,” Capital Logistics founder and Chief Operating Officer Michael Feig told me Monday. “I think we are seeing that trend continue...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-stockout-reefer-capacity-tightens-in-northeast

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: There’s no freezer burn at pioneer Frozen Food Express

A Frozen Food Express tractor. (Craig Wendt Collection)

Cy Weller was an attorney who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After being discharged in 1943, he returned home to San Antonio, Texas. The office space he had used previously was unavailable; instead of finding new offices and reestablishing his legal practice, he set the ball in motion for the formation of Frozen Food Express.  

Weller began purchasing and reselling surplus and/or salvaged military equipment. He sold surplus Army vehicles to trucking companies. While doing this, he...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-theres-no-freezer-burn-at-pioneer-frozen-food-express

Rail Roundup: Lineage, Patriot make acquisitions; CP, CN set records

A photograph of a warehouse with five trucks parked next to it.

From acquisition updates to grain loadings, here’s a roundup of some recent rail-related news:

Lineage acquires refrigerated railcar producer

Lineage Logistics, a Michigan-based temperature-controlled real estate investment trust and logistics solutions provider, has acquired Maryland-based Cryo-Trans, a producer of refrigerated and insulated railcars.

Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed, but Lineage said the acquisition “creates a unique comprehensive and seamlessly integrated supply chain...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/rail-roundup-lineage-patriot-make-acquisitions-cp-cn-set-records

Ag exporters grapple with COVID, trade war, political unknowns

farm agriculture exports pork

It’s a recipe for trouble: COVID disruptions are pulling refrigerated containers away from food production areas. Twice this year, outbreaks stymied U.S. food shipments to China. Tariffs are still taking a bite out of ag sales. Trade tensions with China remain high. Trade negotiations with the EU are intensifying. And the presidential election could reset the entire equation in less than two weeks.

To put the myriad issues faced by U.S. food exporters in perspective, FreightWaves interviewed...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/food-shippers-grapple-with-covid-trade-war-political-unknowns

SkyBitz, Coretex team up for unified reefer solution (with video)

Refrigerated shippers and their carrier partners have been under increasing pressure in recent years due to new regulations centered on ensuring safe and sanitary delivery of temperature-controlled products.

On Tuesday, SkyBitz announced a partnership with Coretex, which provides sensor-based refrigerated solutions. The sensors, combined with Coretex’s cloud-based platform, will work in conjunction with SkyBitz’s trailer-tracking technology, giving pharmaceutical and retail customers visibility...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/skybitz-coretex-team-up-for-unified-reefer-solution-with-video

Ditching the diesel, keeping the cool

  • Trailer manufacturers and leasing companies introduce new all-electric transportation refrigeration models.
  • California is working on a new rule that would require zero-emissions reefer technology at select facilities.

In 2019 fleet management company PLM purchased a refrigerated trailer, or “reefer,” with a solar-electric transport refrigeration unit (TRU) and hired a driver who completed a successful 2,400-mile run from Phoenix to Orlando, Florida — on a single charge. 

PLM, a refrigerated...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/ditching-the-diesel-keeping-the-cool

FreightWaves Flashback 1955: Frozen food without refrigeration

The many industries that make up the world of freight have undergone tremendous change over the past several decades. Each Friday, FreightWaves explores the archives of American Shipper’s nearly 70-year-old collection of shipping and maritime publications to showcase interesting freight stories of long ago.

The following is an excerpt from the September 1955 edition of the Jacksonville Seafarer.

Florida’s huge frozen food and fruit concentrate industries have more than a passing interest in a...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freightwaves-flashback-1955-frozen-food-without-refrigeration

Truck traffic normalizes at faster speeds with less hard braking

80 mph highway sign

Truck traffic is about back to normal on the nation’s highways and interstates, according to a study of 130 million trips by fleet management solutions provider Samsara Networks’ 15,000 customers. Two safety-related items stand out:

More speeding.

Less hard braking.

Samsara looked at traffic and driving before, during and after lockdowns across the United States. It also sampled five cities: Atlanta, New York City, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco. Speeding jumped 40% in those cities early April...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/truck-traffic-normalizes-at-faster-speeds-with-less-hard-braking

Protecting reefer containers from premature wear

International shippers of fresh fruits, vegetables, seafoods and meats take great pride in the quality and appearance of their products. Similarly, they expect the first thing that arrives at their loading docks by truck, as well as their customers’ location — the refrigerated ocean containers — to look just as fresh.

Food producers undoubtedly become uneasy when loading their products into reefer containers blemished by rusted steel framing, said Steven Blust, president of the Washington-based I...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/protecting-reefer-containers-from-premature-wear

Carriers must diversify product to survive the impact of COVID-19

The convulsions that COVID-19 has sent through the economy and supply chain have made it imperative for carriers to diversify their customer base, shed weak areas of their business and adapt to changing retailer behavior.

“What COVID-19 is doing is stress testing by default every country’s supply chain and every company supply chain. And some of them are failing because of that stress test. Out of the many companies hauling during this time, even in refrigeration, some have survived and some...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/carriers-must-diversify-product-to-survive-the-impact-of-covid-19

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