Reefer shortage persists as perishables shippers opt for boxes, ONE orders 6,000

Container shipping lines are rushing to order refrigerated containers (reefers) to plug an emerging gap between supply and demand in global perishables trades.

Japanese carrier ONE yesterday announced an order for 6,000 40ft high-cube reefer units, which will take its reefer fleet up to 240,000 teu at the end of the year.

A year ago, it added 14,000 40ft units to the fleet and its latest order includes 500 units equipped with advanced controlled atmosphere (CA) technology, to “slow down the respiration ...