The Reefer Freight Playbook: Temps, Claims, and Produce Season

Dry van forgives. Reefer does not. A door left open at the wrong dock, a unit run on cycle when the rate con said continuous, a pulp temp nobody checked — each one is a five-figure claim wearing a small mistake's clothing. Here's the working playbook.

Continuous vs cycle: the $30,000 setting

Continuous mode runs the reefer unit non-stop, holding tight temperature bands — required for produce, floral, and anything respiring. Cycle-sentry saves fuel by cycling the unit on and off, fine for frozen goods with thermal mass. The shipper's written instruction controls. If the rate con says continuous and your unit logged cycle, a rejected load is on you regardless of the actual temps.

Pulp temps: check before the doors close

The product's core temperature at loading is the shipper's responsibility — your reefer maintains temperature, it doesn't fix warm product. Pulp the product at the dock (with the receiver's thermometer if offered, yours regardless), record it on the BOL, and refuse or note anything loading out of spec. That note is the difference between their claim and your claim.

The instructions that must be in writing

• Set point and mode (continuous/cycle) — on the rate con, not in a phone call.
• Any mid-transit temp change — get the rate con amended before touching the unit.
• Protect-from-freeze requirements in winter for liquids and canned goods.
• Pre-cool requirements and who verifies trailer temp at the dock.

Produce season: the reefer calendar

Rates follow the harvest. It starts in South Texas and South Florida (March–April), sweeps through Georgia and the Carolinas (May–June), peaks with California's salad bowl and stone fruit (May–August), and finishes with apples in Washington and Michigan (September–October). Position a week before a region peaks and you set the rate; arrive a week late and you take it.

Insurance nobody tells you about

Standard $100k cargo coverage often excludes reefer breakdown — the single most likely cause of a total cold-chain loss. Reefer breakdown coverage plus documented unit maintenance (download reports, pre-trip records) is what makes an underwriter pay a claim instead of fighting it.

"In reefer, paperwork isn't bureaucracy. Paperwork is the product."

Our dispatch desk confirms mode, set point, and pulping rights in writing on every reefer load, and plans produce season lane-by-lane. That's the premium without the roulette.