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To Meet Peak Refrigerated Cargo Season Demands, Crowley has Added More than 350 New Refrigerated Containers

Crowley Logistics has added 355 new refrigerated (reefer) cargo containers to its industry-leading equipment fleet to ensure equipment availability at origin for perishables moving through the cold chain. These units are in addition to more than 500 new reefers received earlier this year. 

The new units, which are all 40-foot-long high cubes, are built to Crowley’s exacting standards and further demonstrate the company’s focus on offering customers the most reliable and efficient equipment in the Central America and Caribbean markets. These units have wireless asset monitoring (WAM) technology, which provides continuous monitoring as the reefers transit from origin to destination, both at sea and over land, to ensure the integrity of the cold chain the entire time goods are moving.

“We realize the importance of having the best refrigerated equipment in the right quantities – all strategically positioned to meet customers’ needs during peak perishables season and throughout the rest of the year,” said Brett Bennett, senior vice president and general manager, Crowley Logistics. “It is a priority for us to ensure we are meeting all their needs for reliable logistics services, including the highest level of available equipment.”

Crowley’s industry-leading equipment, combined with grower and farm supply chain services such as load planning and equipment sanitization, make Crowley a trusted partner for perishables shippers. In addition to providing in-transit services such as location and temperature monitoring, the company offers customs clearance, fumigation options, refrigerated storage and last-mile delivery to ensure quality through single-source accountability. 

The 355 new containers arrived in Santo Tomas, Guatemala, last week and are already being used in support of Central America’s ongoing heavy northbound reefer season. The new containers are equipped with environmentally friendly Star Cool refrigeration units, incorporating several changes to further boost efficiency and reliability. 

Additionally, the company expanded its on-terminal, perishables handling capabilities by constructing a new USDA inspection dock in Port Everglades, Fla., earlier this year. The $1.6 million dock has capacity for 80 refrigerated (reefer) containers, more than double the previous size, to better serve perishable shippers moving fruits and vegetables into the U.S. The dock also has individual, shoreside power plugs for each reefer, allowing for continuous temperature control, cutting cargo handling time and the need to move the container to a separate location for separate USDA inspections.

Since 2014, Crowley has invested roughly $160 million in new cargo equipment for its fleet. Today, the company operates just under 50,000 pieces of owned and leased intermodal equipment. The equipment’s diverse sizes and strategic locations throughout the U.S, Central America and the Caribbean provide customers a variety of solutions to meet demands.