Winter is almost upon us, and with it will come freezing temperatures affecting much of the U.S. But just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you can afford to let your cargo freeze. The fact is that a lot of what you ship will be susceptible to freezing damage. If liquids are allowed to freeze, they can expand and burst their packaging, making a big mess for the carrier to clean up, ruining your shipment, and incurring cleaning fees. And it’s not just liquids that can sustain freeze damage. Perishable food, cosmetics, coffee, batteries, and medications can also be damaged or completely ruined by freezing temperatures.
You need to take extra care in the winter to make sure your shipments don’t succumb to cold temperatures. Often, that means insulating your packages to keep them warm and using temperature-controlled shipping to keep things in the safe zone temperature-wise. Plan your route carefully to keep freight out of the coldest regions as much as possible, and avoid shipping over the weekend, if you can.
Insulate Your Packages
Protecting your freight from freezing starts with the way you package your shipments. Temperature-sensitive freight should be insulated from the cold. You have lots of options for insulating shipping containers, including spray-in foam, styrofoam panels, mineral wool, and batt insulation. You may also want to insulate the individual crates with styrofoam, heat packs, and thermal liners that can be wrapped around the freight itself inside the crate. Wrap pallet covers or cargo blankets around the outside of your pallets to keep the cold out. Ask your carrier about using heaters to keep your freight warm. Include a temperature indicator from a reputable brand like Spotsee to monitor the temperature of your freight in transit.
Use a Temperature-Controlled Truck
Making sure your freight is shipping in a temperature-controlled truck or freight car can keep it from freezing no matter how cold the outside air is. Some things, like perishable food, need to be kept cool in transit, not warmed up too much with insulation and heaters. Refrigerated trucks are still temperature controlled and can be an effective way to keep your freight from freezing in transit.
Avoid Shipping Over the Weekend
You should avoid shipping temperature-sensitive freight over the weekend, especially if you’re using a less-than-load (LTL) carrier. Many carriers may not actively move freight over the weekend, and LTL carriers especially may not put their freight into a warm warehouse for weekend storage. Instead, they might just leave it sitting in the trailer outside, where it could be susceptible to freezing for two days.
Besides, it’s best to get your freight to its destination as quickly as possible, because more time on the supply chain means more time at risk of freezing. The faster your freight reaches its destination, the less likely it will be to freeze en route. Talk to your carrier about their policies for weekend shipping – does freight keep moving over the weekend? Is it stored in a temperature-controlled warehouse or left on a trailer outside? If your carrier isn’t going to be moving your freight or keeping it warm over the weekend, go with another carrier or, if that’s not possible, time your shipments so that they aren’t in transit over a weekend. If you’re shipping with a carrier like the United States Postal Service, for example, your best choice may be to send your shipments on a Monday so they arrive before the weekend.
Plan Your Route
Weather conditions may vary at different points along your route, especially if it’s a long route. Conditions can even vary from daytime to nighttime, depending on where you’re shipping – for example, in the desert it can be sweltering during the day and freezing at night.
It’s best to plan your shipping route so that you avoid sending freight through cold regions as much as possible. Sure, it won’t always be possible to keep your freight out of cold weather conditions, especially if you’re shipping to a cold region. But you can plan your route so that your freight spends as little time as possible in cold conditions, reducing the chance of it freezing. If you’re shipping through a region where temperature swings are common, you can plan to move your cargo during the part of the day when it’s warmest.
Winter weather means you’ll have to take extra steps to keep your freight from freezing in transit. Keep your cargo warm, and you can keep your customers happy and minimize your shipping damage.
