Cold chain logistics - statistics & facts
The invention of mechanical refrigeration and its subsequent use in logistics revolutionized the logistics industry in the 1950s. Since then, cold chain logistics has grown into a prominent segment of the logistics industry, sized at 364 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Defined as the management of the flow of products from origin to destination in a temperature-controlled supply chain involving an uninterrupted series of refrigerated production, distribution, and storage activities, cold chain logistics enables us to transport temperature-sensitive goods over large distances. Infrastructures such as pre-cooling systems in factories and farms are made use of in the initial stage of supply procurement. Goods and products are then transported in refrigerated trucks, railway wagons, or air cargo containers. Goods are then moved to cold storage in refrigerated warehouses before reaching the end consumer through factories, ports, terminals, retail, and other markets.
