Refrigerated Truck Shipping | How-to Guides for running your business from Business.com

The shrimp were divine and the flowers freshly-cut. The kinds of things we take for granted, like fresh seafood and blossoms from foreign shores, depend on refrigerated LTL trucking (less-than-a-truckload) to exist.

If your small business is basing its growth on just-in-time refrigerated transport of delicate foods and the like, a refrigerated truck shipping service and refrigerated container is key. Covered in this guide to refrigerated freight:

1. When to hire a national refrigerated transport company
2. How to find independent refrigerated-truck drivers
3. Renting refrigerated trucks, aka "reefer trucks" in the business
4. Cold storage and refrigerated container complements to refrigerated shipping and refrigerated trucks

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Most national refrigerated transport firms offer refrigerated LTL trucking

National firms with multiple types of refrigerated shipping services tend to have also invested in newer refrigerated trucks, competent drivers and cutting-edge dispatch and satellite tracking systems. If your temperature sensitive load is also time sensitive, a big refrigerated shipping company might be best.

I recommend: Find an online directory of refrigerated shipping companies at Leonard's Guide. Refrigerated shipping providers include Roadtex, Prime Inc., K & J Trucking, Arctic Express and Kool Pak. See more refrigerated trucks resources at the Business.com directory page on refrigerated LTL trucking.

Arrange refrigerated truck shipping through a network

If you expect to buy a refrigerated truck or contract steadily with a refrigerated LTL trucking company, it might be worthwhile to instead hire an independent refrigerated truck shippping service through a network.

I recommend: An individual driver might be more interested in your particular route or load. Find one through refrigerated LTL trucking network Glen Rose Transportation Management and Dynamic Transportation. See more on specialized transport at Business.com

For one-off or irregular hauls, consider refrigerated truck rental

Got to move some popsicles to Peoria? Ice to West Islip? If your company needs cold storage and short haul refrigerated truck shipping, renting a refrigerated truck instead of refrigerated LTL trucking might be the solution.

I recommend: Ryder and Brown National Lease rent refrigerated trucks. Buy a refrigerated truck through TruckPaper.

Cold storage companies also sometimes handle refrigerated truck shipping

Unless your company has its own warehouse, you'll need to lease cold storage space as well. Many cold storage firms are full service -- meaning they handle storage but also refrigerated truck shipping service. They also work with refrigerated shipping containers.

I recommend: See vendors of refrigerated container and cold storage services, including Atlas Cold Storage, LA Cold Storage and Portable Cold Storage. Find more refrigerated freight facilities and refrigerated shipping containers at Business.com.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

If your cargo needs to be cold, refrigerated shipping containers and control is the key to success refrigerated truck shipping. Ask about staffing levels at dispatch and driver training.
Tracking is increasingly a common tool for refrigerated truck shippers, in part to keep trucks on time but also to provide real-time tracking on the sensitive goods inside refrigerated shipping containers.
Intermodal refrigerated freight transport in increasingly common. In this case, your will need to send goods in refrigerated shipping containers that can be attached easily to waiting trucks for delivery, no stops.