Issue link: https://jocdigital.uberflip.com/i/516072
56 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com TOP 100 IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS 2015 JUNE 1.2015 By Lara L. Sowinski IT'S NO SECRET that specialized carriers are losing refrigerated cargo market share to containerized carriers, but details about why it's happening, how much cargo is really shifting and who ultimately will control which pieces of the market are less apparent. Executives representing both interests spoke at the JOC's 15th Annual TPM Con- ference in March, addressing key themes related to the global reefer market. Stuart Sandlin, senior vice president for sales and customer service at Hapag-Lloyd America, said the reefer container is largely supporting the increased globalization of refrigerated goods. "In just eight short years, the reefer container has grown its share of the refrigerated market from just over 50 percent to nearly 75 percent," he said. "Meanwhile, the global reefer container fleet has grown 34 percent since 2009. This tremendous growth is resulting in a notice- able shift in cold chains." Containerization and reefer fleets are improving accessibilit y for "everyone, everywhere," Sandlin explained. "Thanks to the Internet, small boutique companies can access global markets and bring their goods to more consumers than ever before." Reefer containers also provide reduced costs for door-to-door transportation, and their modular nature makes it possible to ship smaller volumes of products, resulting in a more nimble supply chain, Sandlin said. "It also means you don't need large cold storage facilities at the destination. Historically, the large cold storage DCs were a requisite in order to get your temperature-controlled goods overseas. Now with the reefer con- tainer, they're no longer needed," he added. Yntze Buitenwerf, CEO of Seatrade Group, the world's largest specialized reefer carrier, acknowledged that specialized carriers car- ried almost half of global refrigerated cargo in 2000, but "over the last 14 years, the sector experienced a reduction of about 3 million tons of cargo. It's true that specialized reefer carriers' market share has been reduced by roughly 3 million tons, or approximately 12 percent over this period, but it has not been reduced due to lack of service levels." For starters, 40 percent of the special- ized reefer f leet was recycled over that period, so when you take that into consider- ation, then the reduction in total tons is very Container or Specialized? With temperature-controlled shipments growing, global reefer shippers need capacity on any ship they can get it