Running on Ice: Upgrades come to chilly things

Hello, and welcome to the coolest community in freight! Here you’ll find the latest information on warehouse news, tech developments and all things reefer madness-related. I’m your controller of the thermostat, Mary O’Connell. Thanks for having me!

All thawed out

Shiny new units. Carrier Transicold, manufacturer of reefer units on trailers, announced a new trailer refrigeration unit, the X4 7700. So what’s the difference between the 7700 and the other X4 models? According to the company news release, the 7700’s benefits are:

• Enhanced compliance: Lifetime compliance with the California Air Resources Board’s stricter rules for trailer refrigeration systems.
• Significantly better fuel economy: New engine features reduce fuel consumption by 5% to 10%. The new “eco speed” feature automatically decreases engine rpm during intervals where conditions permit to create even more fuel savings.  
• Greater sustainability: The unit uses R-452A refrigerant with a global warming potential 45% lower than that of the traditional transport refrigeration unit refrigerant, R-404A. 
• Lighter weight: At 1,690 pounds, the X4 7700 weighs about 10% less than its competition.

Beginning of a beautiful friendship. 4×4 Capital, an investment platform, is partnering with Yelloh, formerly Schwan’s home delivery arm and a leader in frozen home food delivery. Frozen foods, both bought at grocery stores and delivered, is a $70 billion dollar business that’s expected to grow 6% per year over the next three years. As more and more shoppers look to expand their frozen food purchases, companies will have to become creative with solutions consumers desire. One thing for sure is we can expect to see more home delivery trucks in the neighborhood, forever tricking kids into thinking it’s the ice cream man. 

Temperature checks

The Jacksonville Port Authority has found itself in the news again — and still for good reasons. USA Big Mountain Paper Inc., a leading paper products manufacturer, has announced plans to expand its operations in Jacksonville, Florida. The expansion will include the addition of new equipment and machinery to increase production capacity and enhance efficiency. The Jacksonville facility, which currently employs over 100 workers, will also be hiring new workers as part of the move. This expansion comes in response to the growing demand for USA Big Mountain Paper’s products, particularly in the Southeastern U.S. The company says its commitment to investing in its facilities and workforce reflects its long-term commitment to providing high-quality products and exceptional service to its customers.

Quotable moment: “Shipping through Jaxport is very affordable and efficient to our customers,” said Gustavo Massagli, president of USA Big Mountain Paper. “We were shipping from other countries that would take 30 to 40 days. Now, with a Jacksonville connection, we’re shipping much quicker to locations like Costa Rica and Panama, and we have customers in Puerto Rico. It’s amazing.”

Food and drugs

Anyone who’s a player in the grocery space was at the National Grocers Association Show in Las Vegas in February, including Cooltrax. At the show, Cooltrax announced its solution to real-time location tracking and product-level temperature monitoring for refrigerated trucks, trailers and storage locations through its Fresh InTransit suite. According to a Progressive Grocer article, this comprehensive software and hardware solution is expected to “increase safety performance, strengthen customer loyalty, dramatically reduce product spoilage [and] lower insurance costs [along with] other benefits.”

A solution that gives grocers the power to keep temperatures under control and know what degree products are at throughout the entire process is game changing. If they knew that it sat on the dock with the doors open for too long waiting to get unloaded, the key to sudden spoilage might have been found. 

Cold chain lanes

This week’s cold chain highlight is Seattle. Capacity is tightening as outbound tender volumes continue to rise. Outbound tender rejections are falling, but that shouldn’t bring relief to spot rates yet as the Outbound Tender Rejection Index (OTRI) is still above 10%, which indicates an inflationary rate environment. However, for carriers it’s a perfect market to head to as there is no shortage of demand for freight. 

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Shelf life

Cool Chain Association undertakes trial tracking flower exports from farm to table

Perishable transport trials to be used for best practice guidance

Trading assistance: Assessing responsibility for defective strawberries

Red Lobster increased frozen food offerings 

OK with the change in management? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.

See you on the internet.

Mary

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Editor: Mary O'Connell