Cold Chain & Temperature-Controlled Freight

At the transfer points, not on the main legs. The vulnerable moments are the time on an unshaded apron, the hours in an unplugged reefer waiting for a terminal power slot, and the gap between a chilled vehicle and a chilled store. The ocean or air leg itself is generally the best-controlled part of the journey.

Use continuous data logging, and treat the logger record as the deliverable. A temperature excursion is often invisible on arrival — the cargo looks fine — so without a log there is no way to demonstrate integrity or to establish where a failure occurred. For regulated goods such as pharmaceuticals, the logger record determines whether the consignment can legally be sold at all.

Specify it explicitly at booking rather than relying on a default, and state whether the container must be pre-cooled before stuffing. The correct set point comes from the product specification, and for produce it may also involve controlled atmosphere settings for oxygen and carbon dioxide. Never assume the carrier will infer the requirement from the commodity description.

How long the cargo survives depends on the product, the ambient temperature, and how well the container was pre-cooled and loaded, but the risk is a total loss for sensitive goods. This is why monitored plug-in at every stage matters, and why reefer shipments should carry insurance written for temperature-related loss, which is not automatically included in standard cargo cover.

Air is faster and reduces the number of hours the cargo spends in the chain, which suits short-shelf-life goods and high-value pharmaceuticals. Sea in a reefer is far cheaper and works well for products with sufficient shelf life, such as frozen goods and hardy produce. The right answer is usually driven by remaining shelf life on arrival rather than by freight cost alone.