A little hope for the cold chain market

The past twelve months have been "really bad" for the refrigerated freight industry, says Philip Gray, reefer analyst at the consultancy Drewry. In the shipping of refrigerated goods such as meat, frozen goods and fruit and vegetables, the entire system and its capacities are under so much pressure that even the smallest disruptions have a massive impact on supply chains. For the fresh fruit trade in particular, there is a constant threat of cancellations and losses, says Gray: "For the fresh fruit sector, the reliability of shipments remains one of the biggest challenges. So the question is: are schedules being adhered to, arrival times, departure times?"

Shifts using the example of Haiti

Gray outlined an example from last year in his keynote speech on the FRUIT LOGISTICA 2025 Logistics Hub stage - namely Haiti: "A small place that nobody usually talks much about. Then the port is closed for three months and the cargoes have to be unloaded at the hubs in Kingston and Cartagena. This clogs up these hubs, refrigerated freight gets stuck in the resulting traffic jams and ships accumulate delays." Such phenomena can be seen all over the world, including in the Mediterranean ports of Europe.
Gray went on to say that the shipping industry actually put pretty much all the ships and containers it could onto the seas last year. The reason: de facto route closures, such as in the Suez Canal, reduce the efficiency of transport - because detours cost time and therefore transport capacity. "We are seeing a huge jump in profits in container transport," said Gray. "An extra ship here, an extra ship there, that pushes the market."

New ships and strong container production

The reefer expert is hoping for a slight easing in 2025. On the one hand, because container production rose by a whopping 28 per cent last year - and strong production volumes are also on the cards for this year. Secondly, because 21 new ships are expected on the market - "that's already a record," says Gray. Of the newbuilds, eight ships will be focussed on fruit transport, all others on frozen goods. The specialised reefer fleet currently comprises 461 ships with 164 million cubic feet. The 21 newcomers not only add a "considerable amount", but the new ships are also much more efficient. "We can only hope that this will ease things a little."