Global Trade, Geopolitics and the Impact on Refrigerated Shipping: A TPM Cold Chain Webcast

Partner(s):

Port FreePort

Americold

US refrigerated container volumes have shrunk this year, but the disruption hasn’t let up. Early peak seasons on outbound trades from Asia, coupled with reduced capacity from higher port congestion and tied to the Hormuz Strait, have sent importers scrambling for space; reefer importers included. US tariffs have taken a toll, pulling down laden reefer imports by 14.2% in the first quarter. Increased US consumer demand for protein, driven by GLP-1 uptake, has also hampered meat exports, which make up more than half of containerized reefer outbound shipments. Meat exports fell 7% year over year in the third quarter, while total US reefer exports dropped 8.7% in the same period.