Cool Cargo News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Baltic Reefers will acquire NYKCool from NYK Reefers, the refrigerated shipping segment of Japanese shipping giant NYK Line on Sept. 1.

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.

As global demand for refrigerated transport service rises, Ryder Europe is adding more temperature-controlled trailers to its rental fleet in the United Kingdom.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

An increasing Asian appetite for live lobster is being met with a weekly shipment of live lobsters from Nova Scotia to South Korea.

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.

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.