When crippling capacity shortages, dense regulation and no margin for error stand between every shipment of produce and the supermarket, it’s remarkable that we can buy strawberries 365 days per year. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that over 187.7 million tons and $529.3 billion worth of temperature-controlled goods traversed the United States in 2012. While the number of botched shipments is unknown (and probably higher than we suspect), I do know that the risk of failure will increase significantly in the coming year.
Temperature-controlled shipping is a furiously complicated process, and new regulations are reducing an already strained capacity. For a shipper dealing in temperature-sensitive products, it is more critical than ever to partner with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) that boasts specialized knowledge of temperature control.