Climate-Controlled Freight Transportation May Be Necessary When You Ship Your Foods Long Distance
If your specialty food shop is growing fast and you're ready to sell your goods in stores across the state or country, you may need climate-controlled freight transportation to deliver your food or beverages to stores. This ensures food won't spoil or be exposed to heat or freezing temperatures in transit that would affect the quality of the food. Here are some things to know about using climate-controlled freight transportation.
Refrigerated Trucks Carry Lighter Loads
Refrigerated trucks have to carry a reefer unit that keeps the truck chilled, and that adds to the weight and reduces the space in the truck. Because of that, and since it is more expensive to use a refrigerated truck, you'll need to separate your foods that don't need climate control, even if they're going to the same store.
You Can Ship As Much Or As Little As You Need
You can use an entire truck yourself if you need to move a large amount of food across the state or country, but you can also use a portion of the truck and share it with others. This type of arrangement may have the truck making multiple stops along the way, but it's less expensive than paying for a whole truck yourself that you can't fill.
Know The Exact Temperature Range You Need
A climate-controlled truck can keep foods frozen or chilled. Know the exact temperature range that your foods need so the trucking company can match your load with the right truck. If you're sharing a truck, your foods will be matched with other loads that need the same temperature range.
You'll Need To Pack Your Foods Properly
The first time you use climate-controlled freight transportation, work closely with the trucking company so you know exactly what you need to do. You may need to pack your food in insulated boxes, use ice packs, or take other steps to ensure your food is completely protected during its journey.
The trucking company usually uses refrigerated docks when they load and unload climate-controlled food, so your food shouldn't be exposed to heat for long periods. Still, proper packaging is important since your food may be in transit for hours or days.
Success with climate-controlled freight transportation starts with knowing your food products well. Plus, you'll need an accurate estimate of how long your food will be in transit. If you've been shipping individual online orders and packing the boxes to survive transportation in a non-refrigerated truck, then you know how important it is to pack properly.
You may have received feedback from customers about food being ruined by the time it arrived at their homes. You don't want the same to happen to large amounts of food that's headed to stores. Fortunately, using climate-controlled freight transportation greatly reduces the risk of your food going bad. To learn more, contact a company like A & R Transport Inc.