Refrigerated Transport Trucking Companies
Refrigerated transport is the form of transporting goods in controlled temperatures. The condition can be maintained from cool to very low or freezing temperatures, depending on the type of material being transported. Refrigerated transport trucking companies specialize in providing this type of controlled condition transport.
Refrigerated transport trucking companies have specialized trucks equipped with cooling or refrigeration systems to maintain the cool or freezing temperature inside the cargo area of the trucks to protect the temperature-sensitive cargos. The cargo areas of the trucks are sufficiently insulated to keep hot air outside from entering and at the same time keep the cool air inside. Non-porous materials such as plastic and steel are typically used as insulation. When the cargo area is properly insulated, the cooling unit does not need to work as much, thus saving on fuel and total cost of transporting.
Industries served by refrigerated transport trucking companies
Food industry: Perishable products such as fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, seafood and frozen foods need to be transported in cool or freezing temperatures.
Pharmaceutical and medical industry: Certain types of drugs and vaccines, biological specimens for research and organs for transplant and study require controlled temperatures during transit to preserve the quality.
Manufacturing industry: Some chemicals need to be kept in controlled conditions not only in the warehouse, but also during transit.
Choosing Refrigerated transport trucking companies
There are many refrigerated transport trucking companies that can sufficiently handle your specific needs for temperature control. However, there are other factors that need to be considered before you can properly decide on one provider.
- Cost
Refrigerated transport is inherently more expensive than regular transport services because of the special requirements that need to be met which result to higher fuel and maintenance costs and overall cost. However, you need to be aware of charges that some refrigerated transport trucking companies will not tell you upfront. Some of these are unloading costs, waiting fees and multiple stop expenses. Choose a company that discusses all these from the start.
- Delivery schedule
You need to know and agree about the delivery schedule to avoid any problems which may result from delays. Some companies just deliver but do not handle cargos. This presents a problem in multiple stops where the driver just waits for the cargo to be unloaded, not really caring whether they are keeping with the delivery schedule for the other cargos or not.
- Equipment
You need to verify whether the company has reliable trucks and capable of controlling and maintaining the conditions you require. You do not want your shipment to suffer delays due to breakdown or your cargo to be damaged because of inappropriate conditions.
- Customer service and satisfaction
It is wise to know what the customers have to say about the company. Do they have effective customer service system in place? Are the customers satisfied with the service provided for them? These are some things you should know to gauge how a company really performs.
The size of the company is not really the determining factor. Some refrigerated transport trucking companies may be big but this does not mean that their service is the best. So do not discount even small trucking companies.