Refrigerated & Frozen Shipping: 101
Fact: We all eat. Unless you live in Eden, we all rely on logistics to get our food to us. A great deal of that food is frozen. Have you ever stopped to think... How does it all work?
It's not rocket science, but it's pretty close. If you are a shipper, food distributor, big box store, or a local mom and pop store, you know it's not as simple as getting your product from A to B. There are regulations... lots of them. Certain foods can't be shipped together. Temperature requirements are different. Then there's the Food Safety Modernization Act. FSMA is intended to help maintain the safety of both human and animal food during transportation and it comes with it's own list of rules. Not to mention what reefer trucks go through to maintain temperature and meet delivery targets.
A Reefer Truck has a system made to maintain freight at a specific temperature during transport.
The way this is all done completely varies between FTL (truckload) and LTL (less-than truckload) shipments.
Temperature-controlled LTL
Refrigerated/Frozen LTL freight is picked up on certain days predetermined by shippers, logistics companies, and cold storages, along with similar products in the area. LTL carriers pick up the freight at the appointed time. The product is then taken to a cross-dock or transfer facility, where is put on another reefer truck for delivery for the following week.
Temperature-controlled FTL
Big shipments of baked goods, frozen seafood, dairy, fresh meats, and dry goods are perfect for truckloads. The biggest advantage to truckloads is it's simplicity. Same freight. Same temperature (Frozen -10 to 0 degrees and refrigerated 33 to 39 degrees). Same place.
LTL & FTL Shipping Quotes
There are a lot moving parts to food logistics. Pyramid Transport wants to meet your shipping needs, whether it's a truckload of deli meats or a pallet of frozen shrimp. We specialize in frozen LTL shipping and frozen/refrigerated FTL shipping.
