Refrigerated trucks play a crucial role in transporting perishable items across the country. Without them, we’d have bare shelves in our grocery stores!
Furthermore, keeping the goods at their designated temperature throughout the transportation process is nothing short of challenging. Drivers must be able to identify problems that could lead to the spoilage of their goods.
The scary part is temperature changes can occur very rapidly during transit. Continuing on the subject, there are certainly many challenges that exist in the reefer industry. Let’s discuss.
Challenges with Refrigerated Trucks
1. Temperature Loss
Temperature loss is one of the primary challenges that refrigerated trucks battle regularly. Any carelessness during the loading process can cause the perishable items to go bad. This problem is exacerbated during the summer months.
Having a shipment sitting on the loading dock for too long, improper temperature settings in the reefer unit, and poor loading processes can lead to spoiled goods. Unfortunately, if this happens your receiver will likely reject the load.
This is where reefer breakdown coverage comes in handy. If you find yourself in this situation, you’ll want to contact your insurance agent immediately.
2. Driver Error
Another challenge is when drivers aren’t properly educated or trained on operating a reefer truck. These are complex vehicles because they demand appropriate configuration settings, data compilation, temperature regulations, and a monitoring system.
Unfortunately, if drivers aren’t aware of the proper technicalities then they put their whole load at risk. Therefore, proper training surrounding food safety and truck refrigeration units is crucial. Oftentimes trucking companies make training mandatory to mitigate the potential risks.
3. FSMA Requirements
Trucking companies must install a quality monitoring program as per the FSMA’s regulations. A monitoring system will alert you when a temperature drop or any other malfunction is occurring.
Overlooking this crucial step can result in hefty fines and creates a huge liability risk.
4. Equipment Breakdown
The most essential component of a reefer truck is the refrigeration unit. Like every other piece of equipment, a refer unit can also malfunction or break down. These could include things like faulty belts, faulty hoses, fluid leaks, bulkhead blockage, damaged door seals, sensor malfunctions, and so on.
When equipment breaks down the damage it leaves behind can be very costly; therefore, a good monitoring system is key.
Problems like these demand immediate attention. So, failure to address this issue can lead to costly repairs and lost loads.
Sources
https://www.degrootlogistics.com/top-5-challenges-of-refrigerated-trucking/
https://cargodatacorp.com/5-challenges-in-refrigerated-transportation/
https://emeraldtransportationsolutions.com/common-issues-with-refrigerated-trucks/