All thawed out
One of the many developments to come from the LogiPharma 2024 event was the announcement of Tower Cold Chain’s KTEvolution 12, a small-parcel solution for pharmaceutical products. The winning thing here is that the phase-change materials (PCM) or dry ice is in a new pyramid-shaped configuration that guarantees improved internal temperature consistency even when the container is placed on its side – a game changer for anything moving through the small-parcel network.
Tailored for the transportation needs of life science products, including high-value commercial products, cell and gene therapies, as well as research and development shipments, the container can hold temperature for over 96 hours without external power or human intervention. It’s hard to think of places you can’t get to in four days before human intervention.
“The KTEvolution 12’s innovative design not only ensures superior temperature consistency but also prioritizes durability and sustainability,” Martin Hawes, global head of product development at Tower Cold Chain, said in a news release. “With a 30% increase in thermal performance compared to semi-reusable solutions, our newest container exemplifies Tower’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of sustainable cold chain technology.”
Temperature Checks
Georgia – specifically Macon – has a new addition to the cold storage family. Ti Cold worked with Agile to design and build a cold storage facility that focuses on energy efficiency and advanced warehouse management service for refrigerated and frozen food customers. Ti Cold implemented an environmentally friendly low-charge ammonia refrigeration system, which consumes less electricity while maintaining temperatures ranging from 40 to minus 20 Fahrenheit.
President of Ti Cold Sam Tippmann said in a news release, “The facility brings best practices to receiving, storage, import/export, distribution and shipping of products. It is an essential hub in the cold chain, which ensures that products arrive on time and in perfect condition.”
The new facility, near major highways and the Port of Savannah, covers 215,100 square feet and has 33,666 pallet positions.
Food and Drug
The multibillion-dollar fast food industry has finally hit a snag. Rising prices at the grocery store have consumers cutting back on certain things. A spending report from McKinsey & Co. said “Trading down — or changing the type or quantity of purchases for better pricing and value — was still prevalent among consumers in February, although slightly fewer consumers reported trading down this month compared with the end of 2023.”
Gen Z and Millennials are also “splurging” on groceries but apparently not on the frozen food side of things. Nestle saw slowed sales growth in the first quarter as consumers have opted for either premium products or more budget-friendly options. Nestle’s midtier products are taking the biggest hit. As a result of consumer choices away from some of the Nestle brands, executives have reportedly eased up on those price hikes. That is great news, because some of the ready-made frozen heat-and-eat options are getting to be the same price as items at quick service restaurants or other restaurants, but at least with the latter consumers don’t have to clean up afterward.
Cold chain lanes
This week’s SONAR Market takes a trip to the other half of California. San Francisco is seeing some higher-than-normal reefer outbound tender volumes. The ROTVI increased 11.33% week over week, which is not insignificant. Based on historical data, this upswing is typical for this time of the year. It’s the beginning of a trend that happens in May every year and leads to strong volumes over the summer months of produce season. As for the rejection side of things, the upswing in volumes in May doesn’t boost rejections. Unfortunately, that stays consistent and doesn’t provide much volatility in the market, which is the opposite of what carriers are looking for on the spot market.
The good news is that since current reefer rejection rates are so low, there is incredible carrier compliance to picking up tendered loads, which is great for shippers looking to get product moving at reasonable rates.
Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!
Shelf life
Cold Chain – Transportation Best Practices – updated February 2024
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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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