Running on Ice: Pyramids and the pharmaceutical supply chain

President of Ti Cold Sam Tippmann said in a news release, “The facility brings best practices to receiving, storage, import/export, distribution and shipping of products. It is an essential hub in the cold chain, which ensures that products arrive on time and in perfect condition.”

The new facility, near major highways and the Port of Savannah, covers 215,100 square feet and has 33,666 pallet positions. 

Food and Drug

The multibillion-dollar fast food industry has finally hit a snag. Rising prices at the grocery store have consumers cutting back on certain things. A spending report from McKinsey & Co. said “Trading down — or changing the type or quantity of purchases for better pricing and value — was still prevalent among consumers in February, although slightly fewer consumers reported trading down this month compared with the end of 2023.”

Gen Z and Millennials are also “splurging” on groceries but apparently not on the frozen food side of things. Nestle saw slowed sales growth in the first quarter as consumers have opted for either premium products or more budget-friendly options. Nestle’s midtier products are taking the biggest hit. As a result of consumer choices away from some of the Nestle brands, executives have reportedly eased up on those price hikes. That is great news, because some of the ready-made frozen heat-and-eat options are getting to be the same price as items at quick service restaurants or other restaurants, but at least with the latter consumers don’t have to clean up afterward. 

Cold chain lanes

This week’s SONAR Market takes a trip to the other half of California. San Francisco is seeing some higher-than-normal reefer outbound tender volumes. The ROTVI increased 11.33% week over week, which is not insignificant. Based on historical data, this upswing is typical for this time of the year. It’s the beginning of a trend that happens in May every year and leads to strong volumes over the summer months of produce season. As for the rejection side of things, the upswing in volumes in May doesn’t boost rejections. Unfortunately, that stays consistent and doesn’t provide much volatility in the market, which is the opposite of what carriers are looking for on the spot market.

The good news is that since current reefer rejection rates are so low, there is incredible carrier compliance to picking up tendered loads, which is great for shippers looking to get product moving at reasonable rates. 

Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!

Shelf life

Cold Chain – Transportation Best Practices – updated February 2024

Mice infestation delays Europe’s first kiwi shipment of the year

Cold storage developer sets near-port facility completion date

Crash data involving new truck, bus drivers getting worse 

Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@www.freightwaves.com.

See you on the internet.

Mary

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