The United States is home to a vast manufacturing industry and a lot of farms too, and these factories and farms produce countless goods and foodstuffs for the United States every year. But it’s not enough to merely produce those items; they have to be transported to and from factories, warehouses, retailers, and more, and vehicles ranging from trucks and trains to airplanes and seagoing ships will make those deliveries. Many carrier companies are on the smaller side, and they typically have trucks in their vehicle fleets. A freight broker company may be used to arrange a shipment between a carrier company and the client shipper, and some trucks are built with specialized cargo in mind. Among other truck types, this may include reefer units, or carrier reefers. Just what is a reefer trailer, anyway? And how might a company find used trailer refrigeration units for sale and choose the right one to purchase wholesale? Finding the best used trailer refrigeration units for sale can be a real boon for any growing carrier company.
About Reefer Trailers
Before considering used trailer refrigeration units for sale, an interested party may first want to know more about these refrigeration units and what they can do. Put simply, a reefer unit is a truck trailer that has a refrigeration unit on it to keep the interior cool, and this is essential for transporting cold-sensitive items, most often perishable groceries. While dry goods such as cereals and pastas can be delivered with an ordinary truck, cold-sensitive items such as meat products, dairy, frozen foods, and wine must be transported with a reefer unit in particular. These items would spoil if they were delivered in the warm or hot interior of a regular trailer unit.
This makes for a big business, and many clients such as grocery stores make regular use of these reefer units. Most often, such reefer units will be going to and from warehouses that have their own refrigeration units inside, and make the delivery to a grocery store or similar premises. The reefer units themselves may vary somewhat in size and shape, but there’s plenty of them, and they’re all capable of refrigeration. It is believed that close to 500,000 reefer units are in operation across the United States today, and this is part of the larger, worldwide market for such trailers or fridge units as a whole. In fact, it’s a growing industry, and the total number of reefer trailers ordered grew from January 2017 to January 2018, according to data from the FTR Transportation Intelligence. Around the world, the fridge trailer market is due to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4.8% from 2016 to 2022 or so.
What might these trailers look like? On average, they may be 28 to 53 feet long, and they may be as tall as 13.5 feet. Some clients may have a lot of good to transport, and will look for carrier companies who can offer larger, longer reefer units to carry all their goods on time. Reefers may also vary in their total carrying capacity, and some of the largest may carry an impressive 44,000 pounds of goods in them during a delivery. Inside, the temperature may range from -20 degrees to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the needs of the cargo inside. Frozen goods will be prevented from melting, and others won’t be exposed to warmth that would foster bacteria growth.
Units for Sale
What about finding used trailer refrigeration units for sale? This is a wholesale operation, meaning that it’s done business-to-business. An ordinary American consumer won’t be buying their own truck, but a carrier company will. A smaller or newer carrier company might not yet have these specialized wholesale reefer units in stock, and that may limit the company’s potential clients. An interested carrier may look online to find wholesale used trailer refrigeration units for sale, and used units should be looked over in person before purchase. The buyer may check for any defects or faults in the unit, and if everything checks out, they can make the purchase. New units may be bought with a loan and paid off over time, like with any other truck or vehicle for business purposes.
