We added 40 new reefers ahead of the holiday season

Forty new 53-foot refrigerated trailers arrived at our Groveport yard this month. With them, the reefer fleet grows from 80 to 120 units, and every one of them is under three years old.

We ordered them in March, after a summer of turning down reefer loads we wanted to haul. Holiday volume for our grocery and foodservice customers runs about 30% above the rest of the year, and we would rather have a spare trailer in the yard than ask a shipper to wait a day.

What is new about these trailers

The new units run the same refrigeration units as the rest of the fleet, so drivers and our shop already know them. A few things are different:

• Telematics that report temperature, door openings and fuel level every 15 minutes

• Two-zone capability on 12 of the 40, for frozen and chilled freight in one trailer

• Aluminum floors with air chutes, which keep air moving under tightly loaded pallets

• LED interior lighting, so dock crews can check product without a flashlight

What it means for your loads

If you already ship reefer freight with us, you will notice more pickup windows, especially on Monday mornings and the days before Thanksgiving. The temperature log for every load still comes with the proof of delivery, now with door-open events marked on the chart.

If you have held off sending us reefer freight because we were full, this is a good time to ask again. We have room on lanes to Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Chicago through January.

Pre-cooling is still on us

Every trailer is pre-cooled to your set point before it reaches your dock, and the driver checks the reading before loading starts. If a trailer is not at temperature, it does not get loaded. That rule has not changed and it will not.

We would rather have a spare trailer in the yard than ask a shipper to wait a day.

Questions about capacity this season go to dispatch at (614) 555-0142. Jenna and the team can tell you which days are still open on your lane.