Martin Placek
Research expert covering transportation and electronics
Cold chain logistics - statistics & facts
Cold chain logistics is the management of the flow of products from origin to destination in a temperature-controlled supply chain involving an uninterrupted series of refrigerated production, distribution, and storage activities. It sub-divides into two major sectors: food and pharmaceutical.
Infrastructures such as pre-cooling systems in factories and farms are made use of in the initial stage of supply procurement. Goods and products are then transported in refrigerated trucks, railway wagons, or air cargo containers. Goods are then moved to cold storage in refrigerated warehouses before reaching the end consumer through factories, ports, terminals, retail, and other markets.
Why is cold chain important?
Cold chain logistics is used in ensuring extended shelf-life preservation of products such as fruits and vegetables, meat and seafood, beverages, dairy products, and frozen foods, as well as chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs. An example of cold chain logistics in the pharmaceutical sector is the movement of the COVID-19 vaccine from the manufacturer down to the recipient. By 2024, the projected spending for biopharma cold chain logistics is expected to grow to about 21.3 billion U.S. dollars.Infrastructures such as pre-cooling systems in factories and farms are made use of in the initial stage of supply procurement. Goods and products are then transported in refrigerated trucks, railway wagons, or air cargo containers. Goods are then moved to cold storage in refrigerated warehouses before reaching the end consumer through factories, ports, terminals, retail, and other markets.
A boost in cold chain capacity
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the growth in the capacity of refrigerated warehouses worldwide, reaching 719 million cubic meters in 2020. The United States, India, and China were the largest markets in that year. The leading provider in refrigerated warehousing in the world is Michigan-based company, Lineage Logistics. In 2020, Lineage Logistics generated over 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in net revenue and had a capacity of over 46.5 million cubic meters in temperature-controlled space in North America alone.
