This year’s Future of Freight Festival takes place Nov. 19-21 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. But it’s not your average conference. Sure, there are wonderful speakers and fireside chats. But that’s only half the fun. F3 is set up with half-days of speakers and amazing content. The other half we take over downtown Chattanooga, and there are events, networking and a lot of fun to be had by all. This year, subscribers to Running on Ice get a promo code exclusive to us! You can register with this link or use the code F3ROI24 at checkout for a discount.
All thawed out
Fresh off the largest IPO of the year, cold chain powerhouse Lineage has recently secured the company’s 100th patent. The patent is for “Lego”, a proprietary solution for optimizing pick-pallet build operations and sequencing. The technology helps users organize outbound order lines by pallet and order.
Essentially, Lego can identify the shortest route to collect goods for orders, whether it is being collected by a human or robots to minimize unnecessary travel distances. The tech can also determine the ideal placement of items outbound pallets, increasing the average number of cases per pallet.
Quotes in a news release Sudarsan Thattai, Lineage chief information and transformation officer, “Our patent philosophy is rooted in a relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence. Lineage’s 100 patents are remarkable achievements that highlight the solution-oriented mindset and dedication our team exhibits every day.”
Temperature checks
Mobile cold storage trailers got a massive upgrade with Polar King Mobile, as the cold storage giant announced a new drop-deck loading walk-in trailer. This new advancement removed the need for ramps to load trailers. The new units have a temperature range of 0°F to 50°F. The all-electric over-the-road trailers also include dual doors for easier cargo management for loading and unloading.
According to a news release, Christian Aitken, Vice President of Polar King Mobile, emphasizes that these trailers are engineered for safety, efficiency, and versatility. “Whether you’re a small business owner, event organizer, or just require seasonal refrigeration, the Avalanche Series delivers a seamless and dependable solution for transporting temperature-sensitive goods.”
All of the new Polar King Mobile units with the drop-deck feature only require 110V and 15 amps of electricity adding to the convenience for customers who are energy conscious.
Food and drug
Big developments have come to the frozen food packaging industry. Gunze Limited has announced its ultra-thin film. Purewrap, specifically designed for food products requiring transportation in frozen environments. The unique thing about this new two product line is that the product keeps its tough ultra-thin characteristics and are also able to be boiled and maintain its integrity.
According to a news release, “In January 2022, Gunze introduced Purewrap FS35N and FS40N, which offer more than twice the puncture strength of conventional non-oriented nylon-polyethylene 70 µm [thickness] films while reducing plastic use by approximately 50%. This film type has been widely adopted by customers. It has now been renewed as a boilable type, expanding its applicability to a wider range of foods processed in central kitchens for commercial prepared foods and restaurants.”
The pinhold resistance and heat tolerance allows for kitchens and other food processing facilities to use hot water to thaw products without having to worry about accidental exposure to outside contamination.
Cold chain lanes
This week’s SONAR market goes to the heart of corn country, Iowa. The state that could best be described as “I really like corn” has seen a sharp uptick in reefer outbound tender rejections. Overall reefer outbound tender volume rates are still up 3.44% w/w. The ROTRI has increased 452 basis points week over week going from 15.3% to 18.56%. Reefer outbound tender volumes have started trickling upwards after taking a drive to start the week off. Since reefer outbound tender rejections are well above 10% and have consistently been above 10% expect seriously inflated spot market rates in most markets within the state of Iowa. As it gets closer and closer to corn and soybean harvest those rejection rates will continue to climb signaling a bit of a capacity crunch for the state as Labor Day Weekend comes around.
Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!
Shelf life
Kansas food supply chain strengthened with $5.6 million investment
Tech to decarbonise cold chain logistics secures £17.3m investment
Emergent Cold announces new warehouse and appoints new executives in Mexico
Dawn Foods adds three new flavors to frozen ready-to-finish donut product line
Former Polar Air Cargo executive receives 18-month jail sentence
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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