A Rise In Temperature Controlled Logistics

With blockchain growing and being utilised more by online users, research has suggested that this is a main factor as to why temperature controlled logistics has increased over the last year.

Temperature controlled logistics will always be prominent and relevant to the logistics industry. For countries that can’t possibly grow or produce goods, they must be imported from the country of produce. Due to factors such as weather conditions or unsuitable seasons, environment suitability and economical issues, items such as fruit, veg, meats, fish, seafood and pharmaceuticals are all types of goods that are transported every day to be sold in other countries. These products have one thing in common: they all require a temperature-controlled environment.

A temperature-controlled environment for these types of products is crucial to ensure they reach markets and shops in perfect, saleable condition. Foods that are prone to growing bacteria or easily perish require precise transportation conditions – fresh meat is a prime example. Despite The Vegan Society’s report veganism quadrupling between 2012 and 2017, it has been estimated that the consumption of refrigerated foods such as dairy products and frozen goods have risen.Furthermore, figures from the global food and beverage cold chain logistics market estimate that the transportation of refrigerated and frozen food, including fresh meat, will rise by 7% from 2018 to 2022.

Looking into the rising trend of temperature controlled logistics, research has revealed that there has been a correlation between refrigerated goods increase and blockchain, and is expected to continue to grow. (If you’re unaware of what blockchain is, it might be ideal to visit our incredibly helpful blockchain article in this issue’s FORWARDER Focus section). According to market research, refrigerated goods transported by land has grown 7% per year from 2018 to 2022. Blockchain is becoming utilised more frequently, which ultimately lowers the opportunity for data corruption or hacking. This “safer” alternative is attractive to internet users, as the risk of scammers and data-hacking scandals has been a fear for online-users for quite some time. Researchers have estimated that 9% of gross domestic produce will be obtained through blockchain by the year 2025, particularly concerning marine transport due to documentation and transparency of blockchain.

The demand for fresh meat has risen, ultimately increasing the transport needed for the refrigerated goods. According to research, 320 million tonnes of temperature controlled meat products were transported in 2017 alone. This is expected to rise to 1.25%-1.5% further every year. Furthermore, refrigerated trailers made up to almost 52% of 2017’s refrigerated road freight market.

Obviously I can’t quite write this article without stating the obvious: these statistics may not be as promising for the UK, come March. Brexit may impact these figures due to the predicted inflation of trade margins, however, for now, this news of a temperature-controlled goods increase is certainly a positive start to 2019 for the freight industry.

Blockchain – An unbiased, decentralised and public digital ‘ledger’, used to document online transactions. These transactions cannot be personally traced or located.

Rachel Jefferies | Editor | FORWARDER magazine