Refrigerated shipping is a vital part of the logistics industry and can help companies like grocery stores ship goods in and out of their stores. If you are new to refrigerated shipping and aren’t very familiar with what it is, here are seven facts to help:
- An American inventor, Fred Jones, developed the first automated cooling system designed for shipping trailers. In 1939, a patent was acquired by Jones and Joe Numero for a vehicle air-conditioning system, the Thermo King, which helped launch the refrigerated shipping industry. The U.S. Thermo Control Company was the first manufacturer of refrigerated trucks. Today, technology is used in trains, trucks, and planes.
- In July 2015, the EPA issued an update to the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP), a program designed to evaluate and regulate substitutes for chemicals that are to be removed. The SNAP plan calls for the elimination of HFC “blowing agents,” which refrigerated trailer producers use in insulation. A refrigerated trailer comes with about 1,000 pounds of foam insulation.
- Approximately 500,000 refrigerated trailers, or reefers, operate in the United States.
- Reefers are a valuable part of the transportation industry because they extend product shelf life, reduce waste and protect the freight’s quality.
- Refrigerated trailers haul a wide variety of freight with specific temperature requirements. Most people imagine frozen foods and fresh produce in these trailers, but other products like flowers, medicine, perfume, fine art, cosmetics, and electronics must be hauled on refrigerated trucks as well.
- Reefers haul more than 90% of the food served on American tables.
- New refrigerated trailers cost upwards of $60,000.
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