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INTERNATIONAL MARITIME IMPORTING | EXPORTING | PORTS | CARRIERS | BREAKBULK | GLOBAL LOGISTICS 78 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com MARCH 9.2015 By Lara L. Sowinski THE BUILD-OUT OF cold storage capacity is on fire around the world. From 2012 through 2014, total global capacity grew 20 percent to 552 million cubic meters, an increase of 92 million cubic meters in just two years, according to the 2014 IARW Global Cold Storage Capacity Report. South America and India are two hot spots, the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses says. In fact, India has surpassed the U.S. as the country with the most refrigerated warehouse space, according to the industry group. India reported 130 million cubic meters of refrigerated warehouse capacity last year, with 5 percent of it government-owned. The country's $8 billion in annual cold storage business revenue is growing 25 percent a year. By comparison, the U.S. provides 15 million cubic meters with 76 percent of that total offered on a for-hire basis. Per capita income is the primary driver of a country's refrigerated warehouse capacity, the report notes. Additionally, "the refrigerated warehousing industries worldwide are growing alongside modern supermarket retail sales. Basic transportation status indicators also are aligned with the development of global cold storage capacity." India is a bit of an anomaly, however. "While its per capita income is growing, modern retail formats have very low presence in the share of food sales, and transportation qual- ity is not as high as in other large emerging markets. Hence the growth in refrigerated warehousing in India is not well explained by the driving forces that are generally predic- tive of market penetration of the cold chain," the report said. Although developing markets are add- ing cold storage capacity at a faster rate than industrialized nations, there is still healthy growth throughout industrialized nations, including the U.S. Atlanta-based Americold is the world's largest cold storage provider, operating more than 175 temperature-controlled facilities totaling some 1 billion cubic feet throughout the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, China, Argentina and Canada. The company opened a facility in Heyburn, Idaho, the third Americold facility in that state, in Octo- ber. The 160,000-square-foot facility located in the Magic Valley, a rich agricultural region in the south-central part of the state, features 10 truck and seven rail dock doors. "Our customers have told us — and our research has shown — that the Magic Val- ley region is poised for exponential growth potential in the dairy and agriculture industries, and the demand for tempera- ture-controlled, secure storage is rapidly increasing," said Fred Boehler, Americold's president and chief operating officer. "We're very pleased to open this facility to accom- modate current needs and future demand. The facility's close proximity to the Union Pacific rail line and I-84 provides custom- ers greater transportation alternatives to suit their distribution models." Lineage Logistics, the second-largest global and U.S. cold storage provider, is in the midst of a particularly busy expansion period. The company's growth strateg y includes acquisitions and expansions near key trade gateways. In November, Lineage announced a new project to triple the size of its Tacoma, Washington, cold storage distri- bution facility. Along with immediate access to the Port of Tacoma, the facility features direct access to I-5 and I-90 and rail access through Union Pacific and BNSF Railway. Once the project is completed this year, it will expand the company's presence in the region to nearly 1.5 million square feet of refrigerated warehouse space. Last July, Lineage broke ground on a 340,000-square-foot cold storage distribu- tion facility near the Port of Charleston. The new facility, which is being built by Primus Builders, will feature the latest technology in high-capacity blast freezing. Another new facility, this one located within the Port District of Long Beach, is set to open this spring. The 250,000-square- foot cold storage facility is also within the so-called overweight corridors area of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. When completed, the Lineage facility will be the largest near-port facility of its kind in South- ern California. Third-ranked U.S. cold storage provider Preferred Freezer Services also is investing heavily in the Pacific Northwest. Construc- tion is under way on a massive facility in Richland, Washington. The 120-foot-high facility, covering 455,000 square feet with COLD STORAGE HEATS UP Expansion of refrigerated facilities erupts worldwide and at key U.S. trade gateways