What is Reefer Drayage trucking and how does it work?

How do reefer containers work?

Reefers have dedicated internal refrigeration units that maintain the climate inside the container during transit. Typically, these refrigeration containers have four settings to control the following:

To function efficiently, reefers must have proper drainage. The drainage system removes excess moisture to prevent it from collecting around containers and damaging the contents. This system also prevents insects from gaining access to the container contents.

What is a Cold Chain?

A cold chain refers to end-to-end logistics that require specific actions and equipment to maintain products in good condition while in refrigerated shipping containers. Due to the sensitive nature of some container products, the temperature must be maintained at a certain level for the duration of storage up to its destination.

From the source to the destination, containers can travel thousands of miles, requiring constant attention to detail. Consequently, temperature control is vital for maintaining the integrity and quality of products throughout the cold chain, designed to extend refrigerated cargo’s shelf life.

Because of the delicate nature of reefer contents, the cold chain network is particularly critical when dealing with internationally shipped produce. Consequently, if this cold storage network should fail at any point, the owners of the produce and the network point could lose thousands or millions of dollars. Simultaneously, it would require additional and unnecessary costs to dispose of the wasted products.