The need for speed has never been greater along the cold chain, as last-mile demands dictated by the continued rise of e-commerce has added to an already breakneck pace spurred by record sales and increased traffic for cold foods over the past 18 months. Somewhere amid the rush to build new distribution hubs and cold storage spaces is the ubiquitous and often overlooked pallet. Without it, few of the products expedited to market would reach their destinations on time.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. broke ground on a renewable natural gas (RNG) digester at Del Rio Dairy in Friona, Texas, its first in a joint venture with TotalEnergies to produce transportation fuel which will be negative carbon intensive. All the RNG fuel produced at Del Rio Dairy will make its way into Clean Energy’s nationwide network of RNG stations.
In making packaging decisions for the cold chain, companies need solutions that will help them achieve efficiencies in handling across systems while ensuring their product is moved quickly and without damage. Reusable plastic packaging solutions can help ensure cold goods make it to the refrigerator or freezer safely, while delivering the seamless handling experience the cold chain requires.
Restaurant operators never had it easy. Long before the pandemic, it was their industry that was notorious for a high failure rate. The estimates vary, but the most commonly quoted number is that in good times, 60% of restaurants fail within their first year, and 80% within five years. That’s a staggering statistic by itself.
Thermo King announced that it will invest more than $100 million over the next three years to deliver a fully electric product in every segment of the cold chain by 2023.