What is a reefer sea container and what is it used for and why is it used in transport? A reefer sea container, like other marine refrigerated containers, helps in transporting loads that require a strictly defined temperature inside so that they do not lose their properties, e.g. in the transport of various food products that we use every day.
Refrigerated container and marine reefer – what is it?
A reefer container (from English – refrigerated container – RF) is something more than a standard container due to the fact that it enables safe transport of various types of cargo, which due to their specificity require good protection and a strictly defined temperature inside. That is why these types of refrigerated containers are very often used in transport.
A reefer container is nothing more than a refrigerated container that is equipped with a refrigeration unit and which acts a bit like a cold store. It enables efficient container transport of goods in controlled temperatures even during the longest journeys, which is why these types of containers are very popular and frequently used in the transport industry.
Reefer containers – what is their application in the transport industry?
Refrigerated containers ensure an optimal temperature level of the cargo during transport from one place to the destination, which is why maintaining the appropriate temperature inside the container is so important. Moreover, an appropriately filled and well-secured cargo space in a refrigerated container is not insignificant.
Why is this so important? First of all, to be sure that transported loads are properly secured for transport and will not change their place during transport. Standard refrigerated containers are adapted to transport many food products such as meat, cold cuts, fish, fresh fruit and vegetables.
Types of refrigerated containers used in road transport of goods
To safely transport special loads that require strictly defined temperatures – refrigerated containers are most often used, including reefer containers.
Get to know the basic types of containers used in road and refrigerated transport such as open top, flat rack and hard top as well as dimensions and load capacity of containers
In road transport of goods, various standard and non-standard containers are used every day, which allow safe transport of various loads e.g. oversized and heavy ones, which require good protection. Therefore, if e.g. the load is too heavy or has an unusual dimension – loading requires more effort and therefore special containers are used for this type of products.
Most often used are standard containers of 20 or 40 feet size. These containers are equipped with various types of securities so that your load reaches the destination safely.
Standard containers of 20 or 40 feet size are used to transport various loads.
These containers are suitable for transporting general cargo, such as products packed on pallets, machines, technical devices, toys, or industrial products. Their universal character makes them widely used in sea, rail and road transport
- Universal containers, i.e. 20 or 40 containers – serve to transport universal loads such as food products and e.g. small loads, which in terms of transport needs are not demanding and e.g. do not need storage in controlled temperatures.
- Dry van container – is a type of universal container that serves e.g. to transport food products.
- Flat rack container – serve to transport special loads with unusual dimensions, which due to their dimensions cannot be transported in a standard container. They facilitate distribution of goods in containers due to the lack of side walls and roof, which at the same time speeds up loading, which is why these are containers that forwarding loves.
- Open top container – use of open top containers is quite common in transport of specialized loads that require an open roof. These types of containers are used to transport e.g. loose materials, which due to their properties also require specific humidity in the air, which is facilitated by a container with an open roof.
Standard and specialized containers, i.e. a bit about the division of types of containers in the transport industry
Some of the containers serve to transport standard loads, and others – specialized ones like in the case of refrigerated containers allow safe transport of specialized loads. Refrigerated containers work in such a way that it is enough to connect the unit to electricity so that the temperature of transported goods is ensured during transport to a specific destination.
- Hard top containers – are containers adapted to transport very high, heavy and unusual goods in terms of gauge or dimensions. In the transport industry, they are quite willingly used and appreciated due to the fact that they are of good quality and serve to ensure possibly the safest transport of cargo.
- High cube containers – these are so-called raised containers due to the fact that the dimensions of high cube containers are as much as 10 cubic meters higher than the dimensions of a standard container.
Read more about individual types of transport containers on our blog.
Advantages and disadvantages of reefer refrigerated containers – what is worth knowing?
Using reefers in road transport involves many benefits. The first of them is that reefers help care for the quality and freshness of food products even when carrying out very long distances e.g. to other countries.
The second huge advantage of using reefers in road transport is increasing the operational efficiency of the logistics company and the possibility of effectively lowering transport costs, which is why such a mobile cold store is very popular in the transport industry and willingly used even in the case of long distances.
The third advantage of using reefers in transport is safety and protection of nutrients in food products thanks to the guarantee of maintaining appropriate temperatures recommended by the food manufacturer. Appropriate protection of food for transport promotes non-wasting of food and at the same time allows food companies to maintain good relations with transport companies.
What are the downsides of using reefers in road transport of goods?
Regular use of reefers also involves a few downsides that are worth remembering. These include, among others, issues related to high energy demand and the use of these resources. The more frequent use of energy, the higher costs associated with it, which in some cases can be a burden for the transport company. Downsides also include limited time, because reefer transports are longer, which is why it requires very careful planning of the supply chain to effectively use the company fleet and e.g. prevent a situation where the lack of one reefer in the base will make it impossible to carry out another transport for another customer.
History of the reefer container – how were they created?
Reefer containers were created along with refrigerated containers and were popular already in the 19th century for transporting various types of products that required appropriate temperature.
In old times before the invention of the reefer transport container, transporting fresh meat and fruit on long journeys was problematic for many people. Therefore, its invention forever facilitated the transport of this type of food products and today it is not a problem.
Before people started using reefers for good to transport various types of food products – so-called compression cooling was used, which provided temporary cooling of food products and was not quite an ideal solution. This explains why the invention of the reefer container revolutionized the industry.
Sea transport and refrigerated transport of containers – why does a well-chosen cold store play such an important role?
A cold store well chosen for the specificity of transported products allows taking care not only of freshness e.g. of transported fruit and vegetables, but also ensuring they do not lose their original nutritional properties during transport. Refrigerated containers are adapted to maintain temperature in the range required by the manufacturer, which is why these types of containers serve to transport fresh goods such as fruit, vegetables or deep-frozen products.
Safe carriage and transport of products in refrigerated containers and dimensions of containers – what to remember?
Reefer refrigerated containers have different dimensions, and the most popular of them are 20-foot and 40-foot, which allow convenient transport of various types of products on any international routes.
Reefer type containers have varied capacity and it depends mainly on the type of containers that the transport company has in its offer. Most often these are containers with a capacity of approx. 76 cubic meters with a load capacity of up to approx. 30,000 kg. In terms of dimensions, containers of this type are adapted to the dimensions of even the most unusual products. This means that in this respect they are quite universal. Therefore, all loads can be very easily adapted to them.
How does a refrigerated container work?
A refrigerated container is a type of specialized container that in terms of external and internal construction is adapted to transport refrigerated loads of various types, which require strictly defined temperature during domestic or foreign transport. Therefore, its role is to ensure the cargo an appropriate temperature level and often a refrigeration unit is used for this purpose.
A refrigerated container usually has a temperature in the range from -30°C to even +30°C depending on the type, specificity and needs of a given load.
What are non-active refrigerated containers?
Non-active refrigerated containers are a type of containers referred to by the acronym NOR. The acronym NOR means from English containers that do not have to use a refrigeration unit to guarantee a specific temperature to the transported load, i.e. they work differently than standard refrigerated containers. They do not require an energy source in the form of a unit in the range of controlled temperature, but provide it without using a unit. These types of containers help maintain the set temperature in the range from e.g. -30°C. The temperature in a refrigerated container is lower than in a non-active refrigerated container without a unit, but at the same time lower than in a dry container.
Professional and safe cargo transport in a reefer refrigerated container – only with Trans-Tok!
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Therefore, if you are looking for an experienced transport company to cooperate with and need a good refrigerated container to be sure that your load inside the container will have the appropriate temperature – it is definitely worth using our transport offer.
Reefer sea container – safe refrigerated transport
Do you have a load that requires good protection and which you want to transport to another country and are looking for an experienced transport company for this purpose? At Trans-Tok we know perfectly well how to carry out comprehensive transport of even the most difficult refrigerated loads, so you can entrust us with any challenge!