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
Big things are happening in the land of partnerships and agreements. LaneAxis, the first direct freight network built on blockchain, is partnering with GTFO It’s Vegan. Their deal is building a network of carriers and independent cold-storage warehouses that will bring enhanced visibility, negotiations and payment for perishable goods. According to an Associated Press report, the collaboration has created a virtual network of over 7,000 cold storage facilities across the U.S.
“The cold storage capacity constraint has adversely affected many of our vendors,” Marc Pierce, CEO of GTFO It’s Vegan, told the AP. “Our international vendors struggle to bring product into the U.S., while domestic vendors can’t move product in a timely and affordable manner. Logistic costs are significantly driving down gross profits in an already low-margin sector.”
Temperature checks
Danfoss, an Internet of Things (IoT) platform used to track refrigeration performance, is partnering with Lizard Monitoring’s wireless sensor network to stop food waste in its tracks. Yes, it’s dramatic but combining these two technologies makes alarms go off sooner when there is a problem. There also is 24/7 monitoring to find ways to reduce energy consumption. It automates some of the trickier things so that a person doesn’t constantly need to monitor equipment.
“This combination of IoT enablers and a cloud-based app is a game changer for owners of commercial refrigeration assets,” Michael Kellerman, director of electronic controllers and services business development at Danfoss North America, said in a news release
“Assets in the field can be monitored from anywhere, at any time, allowing owners to ensure the quality and safety of food and be confident in their HACCP [Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point] compliance.”
Food and drugs
Feb. 2 was National Tater Tot Day. While it might seem like a random time to celebrate, the origin is pretty interesting. Some history on the tot. In 1949 brothers Golden and Francis Grigg — who would later go on to start Ore-Ida, arguably the MVP of frozen food — rented a small plant in Ontario, Oregon, right on the border of potato-producing Idaho. Fast-forward a few years and the brothers were killing it in the frozen corn game and looking to expand into frozen french fries. So they turned the flash-freezing plant into a potato-processing facility as frozen food was selling like no other.
There is some pretty significant food waste when it comes to making french fries. The brothers already had a solution for the leftover corn as it was used as livestock feed. But since the potato scraps were still technically edible for humans, they discovered that if you chop up a bunch and mash them together, you get tater tots. Thus, tater tot casseroles, totchos and everything else in between was born.
While it might seem ridiculous to use tater tots as an analogy for food waste in the supply chain, it’s a real and profitable solution born out of potato waste. Who knows what the next tater tot could be? We could see it this year as a way to improve some of the sustainability metrics.
Cold chain lanes
This week we don’t have a particular lane or market to focus on. This is the breakdown for each market of the Truckstop.com seven-day average reefer rate per mile. As you can see, Syracuse, New York, to Hartford, Connecticut, is topping the charts with $5.61 a mile, an 8.3% increase from last week. This lane is just over 250 miles and typically has a higher cost per mile than a longer lane. Knowing what markets are increasing and decreasing in rates week over week keeps the pricing power in your hands, making predicting the swings easier.
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Shelf life
Massive food spoilage casualty of Austin freeze
Vancouver Island company believes its first in Canada to use fully electric refrigeration truck
Valentine’s Day not always a bed of roses for florists
Frozen lasagna is a key indicator for inflation, says fed official Neel Kashkari
What crappy beer demand tells us about the economy
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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