Your latest info on all things cold chain
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
Tower Cold Chain, which specializes in pharmaceutical thermal protection, has opened a new North American headquarters in the City of Brotherly Love. The headquarters is 1.6 miles from Philadelphia International Airport. This is the next step for Tower to continue to build partnerships with pharmaceutical manufacturers, airlines and 3PLs throughout its supply chain. CEO Niall Balfour said, “This marks a significant step in Tower’s growth trajectory. As demand for robust, reliable, reusable pharmaceutical logistics continues to surge, our investment in strategic locations enables us to provide essential support for the seamless transportation of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and life-science products.”
Jacksonville, Florida, meanwhile, is getting a new resident in the form of Karis Cold. The cold storage developer paid $2.87 million for land in Westlake Industrial Park in west Jacksonville. Currently the cold storage warehouse will be built on spec, with no confirmed tenants, though many are interested. That isn’t surprising given the demand Jacksonville is seeing for cold storage development. Karis Cold Senior Director Ken Verne said in October, “We have had our eyes on Jacksonville for over a year due to the proximity to the port and Jax being a gateway to the eastern coast of Florida along with great access heading north.”
Temperature checks
Carrier Transicold is bringing charging on the go to the reefer market. The new additions to its product line come via solar transport refrigeration unit batteries that have greater power delivery and faster charging. An Overdrive Online article highlights, “Refrigerated haulers use solar panels to help offset refrigeration system battery draws from ancillary devices, such as fuel-level sensors, interior trailer lighting and telematics systems, during dwell periods. This saves fuel by reducing the need to run the TRU for battery charging and helps to avoid depleting the battery, requiring a service callout to start the TRU engine and possibly replace the battery.”
Big developments are happening in the insulation world. Kingspan Insulated Panels has announced that QuadCore Technology is now standard on all panels for cold storage applications. According to Kingspan, QuadCore technology is a self-blended hybrid insulation core. It’s the most thermally efficient insulation core on the market and delivers R-values — insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it — 11% better than high-quality passive infrared (sensors that detect heat radiated from objects) and up to 60% better than PUR, another form of temperature monitoring. “For cold storage facilities, it’s all about performance and efficiency, meaning R-value is incredibly important,” said Karim Muri, vice president, marketing services and strategy developments.
Food and drugs
DHL has gone and done the search for all of us who have burning questions about the future of the life sciences and health care sector. A new paper, “Delivering Next-Level Healthcare”, notes six significant trends that will impact the health care industry: patient-centric health care, advanced therapies, digital technologies, new industry ecosystems, sustainable solutions and resilience. These trends are not only changing how care will be delivered on the patient side but also making impacts on the health care supply chain.
As the pharma world continues to grow and develop in the form of medicines delivered to patients’ homes, new therapies that require below-freezing temperatures and more medical access to those in underserved areas the demand for unique temperature controlled solitions will grow. The one area expected to be a leader of growth is the cell and gene therapy market. By the end of 2030 the market is expected to be valued at $42.56 billion compared to $9.15 billion at present.
Cold chain lanes
This week’s reefer market is Houston. After taking a break for the Fourth of July, volumes have started their return to the market. Outbound tender rejections, however, have taken the opposite approach. As rejection levels come back down to normal, spot rates will still be elevated over contract rates. Anytime outbound tender rejections are above 10%, slightly elevated spot rates will occur. Houston is the one market that seems to not be affected as much by the tightness that other markets are seeing during the summer. Reefer outbound tender volumes might not return as strong as July, but there will be some return for the month.
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Shelf life
Post covid challenges continue in logistics and supply chain for temperature-sensitive goods
Anna University to conduct hackathon for solutions to problems in refrigeration and cold chains
Maersk to Boost Cold Chain Logistics Services with First Cold Storage in Dubai
Global Reefer Container Market 2023 Trends, Opportunities & Forecast 2030
Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.
See you on the internet.
Mary
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