Cool Cargo News

An end-to-end protective service for perishable, refrigerated goods and seafood in natural-water-environment containers is the cold chain railroad model, and its deployers argue they can grab reefer market share from other transport modes.

The emerging digital supply chain is offering shippers improved reefer container tracking, as well as better control / management of the cargo's condition. But a decade of reefer underinvestment and an accelerating global economy has led to a shortage of reefer containers.

Maersk initially set up the program for its own needs and used it to, for example, monitor the temperature of each box and change it if it was too low or high, and also to track the maintenance needs.

Wilmington is the first to be able to accept goods that are still midway through the refrigeration process.

“We have seen freight rates remain fairly steady over the past year.”

Virginia joins Miami, South Carolina, Port Everglades, Tampa, Jacksonville, Port Manatee, and Savannah in the program.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout in July dampened growth in the first half.

Since mid-2016, when PortFresh Logistics opened a 100,000-square-foot cold-treatment facility, chilled imports through the port have surged nearly 300 percent.

Wine shipping and proper handling with regard to cold chain integrity remains fragmented, presenting challenges and opportunities for the wine industry and consumers alike.

A scarcity of refrigerated containers has helped push up average temperature-controlled freight rates, which are set to rise further once peak season begins in the final quarter of the year.

New cold storage facilities and multimodal transportation options offer BCOs flexibility for efficient handling of perishable goods.

“What we have seen this first half of this year is a massive reefer container shortage.”

Maersk Line is ramping up its end-to-end cold chain service to and from India.

“Trade volumes between Qatar and Turkey have significantly increased over the past few months.”

The Swiss global logistics group said the acquisitions have added more than 150,000 tons to its global perishables network.

The service will link Northern Europe, the US East Coast, Central America, the Pacific islands, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, and the Caribbean on a weekly basis.

The first consignment of US beef to be imported by China in 14 years is just days away from arriving in the country.

China’s cold chain is growing at a phenomenal rate.

The maritime shipping sector is a perfect candidate to test an information portal.

Access to real-time data is extremely useful to carriers, BCOs, and others, but a consensus has yet to emerge on who owns the data.

Food and beverage shipments are two of the main targets of cargo theft in Latin America.

Analysts say the introduction of larger ships could diminish service levels.

Maersk Line India in a trade advisory said the one-stop freight link from cargo origins is more economical and reliable than air cargo transportation.

The Port of Los Angeles is the US West Coast gateway for Chilean fruit.

The acquisition of Partner Logistics in the Netherlands expands Lineage's reach and aids its pursuit of automated warehousing.

Strong fruit exports, especially melons, are driving growth at the northeast Brazilian port of Pecem this year.

SHIP-LOG’s management team will retain 25 percent of the company’s shares and will manage its operations.

Shippers could face losses that run into tens of millions of dollars.

Hapag-Lloyd joins group of carriers that charge for refrigerated container gensets.

Hong Kong, China, Egypt, and Chile have modified their all-out ban of Brazilian beef exports to focus only on rejecting shipments from 21 packing plants.

The two partners will coordinate their resources to provide cold chain logistics solutions.

Adding density by merging separate refrigerated subsidiaries gave Roadrunner market leverage.

Ports, carriers, and cold storage providers are committed to ongoing investments, including infrastructure, equipment, technology, and personnel.

Container carriers have made steady gains in the global reefer market, but conventional reefer carriers find success through specialty services.

A trial shipment completed last week between North Europe and the East Coast of North America is a sign of digitalization’s potential.

The largest pain point yet to resolve in refrigerated shipping is the lack of data and transparency in managing the end-to-end cold chain, the former head of Maersk Line's reefer business says.

Central American producers to expand their markets by extending the shelf lives of perishable shipments.

The Port of Philadelphia is taking aim at discretionary cargo moving through northeastern competitors.

Eimskip’s acquisition spree continued this week with the purchase of a Belgian refrigerated freight forwarder.

Union Pacific Railroad will gain control of assets throughout the United States as a result of its deal with Railex.