Perishables and Reefer Logistics

A reefer shipment is a cold chain with several handovers in it, and the cargo is only as good as the weakest one. The container can hold temperature perfectly for three weeks at sea and still lose the load in the four hours it sat unplugged on a quay, or in the twenty minutes a trailer stood with its doors open on a loading bay. Nostrac Shipping moves fresh, chilled and frozen cargo for producers, importers and distributors, and our job is to own the handovers: who plugs the unit in, who checks the set point, who monitors it, and what happens when a reading drifts. That is the difference between a shipment that arrives saleable and one that arrives as an insurance claim.

Equipment and Modes

The mode follows the shelf life and the value, not the distance:

• Reefer containers — The workhorse for deep sea and short sea perishables, in 20ft and 40ft high cube form, holding frozen and chilled set points and offering controlled ventilation for produce that needs to breathe.
• Controlled atmosphere containers — Where oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are managed to extend shelf life on long passages of sensitive fruit. Available on selected lanes and worth pricing where the extra days matter commercially.
• Refrigerated road trailers — Single and multi temperature trailers for European and domestic movements, including groupage on temperature controlled networks for pallet quantities.
• Air freight — For very short shelf life and high value produce, seafood and pharmaceutical goods, using thermal covers, insulated packaging and airside handling that keeps the cargo out of the sun.
• Cold store handling — Chilled and frozen storage, cross docking and order assembly between legs, so cargo is not left waiting on an ambient dock between movements.

Where the Cold Chain Breaks

Loss almost never happens where people expect it:

• Cargo warm at loading — A reefer unit maintains temperature, it does not pull down a warm load. Produce must be pre cooled to the carrying temperature before it goes in. Loading warm cargo and setting a lower temperature is the single most common cause of arrival complaints.
• Wrong set point or wrong ventilation — Frozen and chilled behave differently, and fresh produce needs air exchange that frozen cargo does not. The set point and ventilation setting are confirmed in writing at booking and checked against the shipper's instruction.
• Unplugged time — Every terminal, depot and yard handover is a period off power. We agree monitoring and plug in responsibility at each point in advance, and on sensitive cargo we ask for the plug in and unplug times to be recorded.
• Stuffing pattern — Cargo stacked past the load line or blocking the return air path stops the airflow, and the load will not hold temperature no matter how good the machine is. Pallets need to allow air to circulate.
• Door open time — Loading and unloading in ambient conditions with the doors open puts heat straight into the load. Where the receiver has no dock seal or chilled bay, that needs planning around.
• Late paperwork at destination — A container that clears in hours is fine. One that sits waiting for a document burns power, incurs plug in charges and eats shelf life on cargo that has a fixed selling window.

How We Manage a Reefer Movement

What we agree before anything is booked:

• Product specification — Commodity, packing, pallet configuration, required carrying temperature, ventilation setting and humidity where relevant, taken from the shipper rather than assumed.
• Pre trip inspection — The unit is pre trip inspected before it is released for loading, so machinery faults are found at the depot and not at sea.
• Monitoring — Data loggers in the load and, on suitable services, remote monitoring so a drift is seen and acted on rather than discovered at discharge.
• Priority at the ports — Reefer cargo is planned for plug in on arrival and for quick release, with clearance prepared in advance so the box moves as soon as it lands.
• Delivery discipline — Chilled receiving bay, booked window and a plan for what happens if the receiver rejects part of the load, agreed before dispatch.

Related Services

• Retail and food service supply chains on our food and drink logistics page
• Ambient agricultural bulk cargo on our grain and agricultural cargo page
• Fast lanes for short shelf life cargo through UK air freight
• Chilled and ambient storage and distribution through UK warehousing and 3PL

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to pre cool my cargo before loading?

Yes, in almost every case. A refrigeration unit is designed to hold a temperature, not to bring a warm load down to it, and a container loaded warm will usually arrive with quality problems even though the machine ran correctly the whole way. Product should be brought to the carrying temperature in a cold store before stuffing, and the loading itself should be done in a chilled environment where the facility allows.

What is the difference between a chilled and a frozen set point?

Frozen cargo is carried at a temperature well below zero and the unit runs continuously to hold it, with no air exchange needed. Chilled cargo sits in a narrow band above freezing where being one or two degrees out in either direction can damage the product, and fresh produce also needs controlled ventilation because it continues to respire. They are different disciplines and mixing them in one load only works in a multi temperature trailer with proper bulkheads.

How do you prove the temperature was maintained?

Through the unit's own recorded data, which we can obtain from the carrier, plus independent data loggers placed in the load at stuffing. The loggers matter because they record the pulp environment around the cargo rather than the machine's return air reading, and if there is a claim it is the independent record that carries weight. We recommend loggers on any consignment where the value justifies the small cost.

Can you handle groupage for temperature controlled pallets?

Yes, on European road lanes through temperature controlled networks, where your pallets share a trailer with other consignments at the same temperature band. It is the sensible option below a full trailer load. The trade off is extra handling at the consolidation hubs, so packaging needs to be robust and labelling needs to be clear.

What happens if the unit fails in transit?

On monitored services an alarm is raised and the carrier's technicians attend at the next opportunity, at sea by the vessel's reefer engineer and on the road by a service partner. The practical protections are a pre trip inspected unit, monitoring so a fault is seen early, and a cargo insurance position that reflects the value. We tell you as soon as we know, with the options, rather than presenting it at delivery.

Which documents does temperature controlled cargo need?

Beyond the usual commercial invoice, packing list and transport document, food and plant products generally need health or phytosanitary certification appropriate to the product and the destination, and many buyers require the temperature record as a condition of acceptance. Requirements vary by product and by country, so we confirm the specific list for your consignment before booking rather than working from a generic checklist.

Which lanes do you cover for perishables?

European road and short sea lanes including Spain, deep sea reefer services to and from the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, Africa and Asia, and air freight for short shelf life cargo. Tell us the commodity, the carrying temperature and the shelf life you are working with and we will tell you honestly which options are realistic.

Talk to Nostrac about your requirements and we will tell you what is realistic before you commit to it.

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