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The rise and rise of reefer freight rates means fewer choices on supermarket shelves as some perishable products are priced out of the market.

Furthermore, a lack of available containers is creating “tough times” for many reefer shippers and their import partners, according to a reefer market update by DHL Global Forwarding.

It said: “A lot of places in the world at the moment lack reefer equipment. Additionally, dry container rates keep increasing to levels above reefer containers. As a result, shipping lines ...

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  • Martyn Benson

    January 20, 2022 at 2:32 pm

    Unplugged reefers? Is this the new MTV album and video release?
    I have always called them NORs – non-operating reefers.
    How can Chinese ginger be sold in Europe? Airfreight it.

    Conventional reefer rates peaking in January? Who would have guessed? They ALWAYS peak in January through to Easter.

    • Steve Alaerts

      January 21, 2022 at 6:10 am

      The MTV remark is very funny, Martin. It tells something about our age – of course, non-operating reefer boxes is the term used.

  • Steve Alaerts

    January 21, 2022 at 6:22 am

    We don’t see dramatic situations on our supermarket shelves yet, although some categories may suffer harder than others in the next coming months. The fresh produce export from Europe still goes strong. So, in dire need of more ‘operating’ reefer box availability. The positioning of non-operating reefer boxes helps, but our industry prefers healthy balanced trade with fresh imports, such as the Indian grape season that started shipping this week with some delay.