Reefer Freight: Higher Rates, Higher Risk

Refrigerated freight is the classic step-up for a dry van carrier: better rates, steadier volume, and produce seasons that run when dry van goes soft. It's also the equipment where a single mistake — a reefer that cycled off overnight, a trailer that wasn't pre-cooled, a missing temperature record — turns into a cargo claim for the full value of the load.

Why reefer pays more

The rate premium isn't generosity. It compensates for a more expensive trailer, fuel for the reefer unit itself, extra maintenance, tighter appointment windows, longer detention at produce houses, and — above all — the carrier absorbing temperature risk. You are being paid to guarantee a condition, not just a delivery.

The rules: FSMA and temperature

Food freight is regulated. The FDA's Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule (under FSMA) puts real obligations on carriers: maintain sanitary conditions, provide temperature control as agreed, keep the equipment suitable and clean, train personnel, and retain records of written procedures, agreements, and training.

Practically, the shipper specifies a temperature and the mode (continuous vs. cycle-sentry), and your job is to hold it and be able to prove you held it. Records are the difference between defending a claim and paying it.

The practice: pre-cool, pulp, document

• Pre-cool the trailer before loading — to the set point, with the doors closed. A warm trailer pulls heat into the product for hours.
• Take pulp temperatures at loading. If the product arrives at the dock already out of spec, note it on the BOL before you leave. This one habit defeats a large share of claims: you can't be liable for heat that was in the product when you got it.
• Run the mode the shipper specified. Continuous vs. start/stop matters, and "the unit was running" isn't a defense if the mode was wrong.
• Set the unit, then verify. Download or photograph the reefer's temperature log. Modern units and telematics record this; use it.
• Watch airflow. Blocked return air or a load stacked against the bulkhead defeats a perfectly working unit.
• Seal integrity. Record the seal number at pickup and delivery.

Where claims come from

In practice, most reefer claims trace to a short list: the trailer wasn't pre-cooled; the product was loaded warm and nobody documented it; the unit was set to the wrong mode or temperature; fuel ran out on the reefer; a door was opened at an unscheduled stop; airflow was blocked; or the temperature record simply doesn't exist. Notice how many are documentation failures rather than equipment failures.

Cargo insurance limits matter more here too. Standard $100,000 cargo coverage doesn't cover a full trailer of pharmaceuticals or high-value protein — confirm your limit against what you're actually hauling (see our insurance guide).

The economics

Run the real math before chasing the rate:

• Reefer fuel is a separate burn on top of the tractor — roughly a half-gallon to a gallon per hour depending on set point, ambient temperature, and mode.
• Maintenance on the reefer unit is an additional line item (belts, coils, annual service).
• Detention at produce and grocery facilities is common — negotiate it onto the rate con (see our accessorials guide) and expect lumper fees.
• Trailer cost is materially higher than dry van, new or used.

Reefer's linehaul rates typically sit above dry van, but the delta narrows once fuel, maintenance, and detention are honest inputs. Price against your reefer-specific cost per mile, not your dry van number.

Is reefer worth it?

For a disciplined operator, often yes — the freight is less commoditized, the seasons complement dry van softness, and fewer carriers can do it well. For an operator who doesn't document rigorously, it's a way to convert a good year into one bad claim. The equipment is the small part; the process is the business.

How Ashton helps

Ashton's dispatch team books reefer freight against your real cost per mile, negotiates detention and lumper terms onto the rate confirmation before you accept, and confirms the shipper's temperature and mode requirements up front so there's no ambiguity at the dock. Our back-office keeps your BOLs, pulp-temp notations, seal records, and temperature logs filed with each load — so if a claim ever comes, you have the paperwork that ends it. You keep your authority and approve every load. This isn't legal or insurance advice — confirm your cargo limits and FSMA obligations with your own advisors.