Cold chain providers are accustomed to walking the line between maintaining product integrity while managing operational costs. Ongoing market tension, however, has made it more difficult to strike that balance.
For companies in food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive industries, maintaining profitability in a difficult economic environment requires an enthusiastic commitment to innovation. While the cold chain industry continues to see new technological advancements, many fleets still operate under outdated assumptions about reefer management best practices.
Common challenges like confusion over operating modes and inefficiencies like unnecessary precooling durations can have significant cost and sustainability implications for transportation companies.
Understanding reefer mode settings
Reefer operators must choose between running their units in continuous mode or start-stop mode. While this is one of the most basic choices providers make, it is also one of the most consequential – and one of the most misunderstood.
Many operators choose to run their units in continuous mode in the name of product integrity. When fans are running all the time, carriers can ensure their cargo is kept cool without much additional effort. While this method may keep cargo safe, it can also be terribly inefficient.
“[Continuous mode] is often chosen out of either fear because you just don’t know which mode to put it on, or you’re trying to stay out of a liability or a lawsuit issue,” said Travis Ross, senior sales engineer at EROAD.
The industry’s tendency to choose continuous operation without scientific backing represents a significant opportunity for data-driven optimization. By examining actual temperature requirements versus operational habits, fleets can identify substantial efficiency improvements.
Financial and operational impacts of operating modes
The financial implications of reefer operating modes are staggering when examined at scale.
According to Ross’ analysis, switching from continuous to start-stop mode can yield an approximate 40% reduction in both run time and fuel consumption.
Using conservative estimates of $3.55 per gallon fuel prices, 10 hours per day operation and maintenance costs of 60¢ per reefer operating hour, the numbers tell a compelling story.
“Your fuel savings per trailer, when you switch that operating mode from continuous to start-stop, is just over $5,000 a year, just from that one trailer,” Ross said. “So, if you take the fleet fuel savings for 500 trailers… It’s $2,565,000 for a fleet of 500. That’s just fuel.”
Story ContinuesWhen factoring in reduced maintenance costs from decreased run time—approximately $876 per trailer annually—the total savings become even more impressive: over $6,000 per trailer. For a 500-trailer fleet, that represents more than $4.2 million in potential annual savings through a simple operating mode change.
Even for smaller operations, the impact remains significant. A fleet of 100 trailers could realize over $600,000 in annual savings. That is enough to fund additional equipment, personnel or other strategic investments.
Addressing shipper requirements and practical considerations
While the financial case for start-stop operation is compelling, carriers must still navigate shipper requirements that sometimes mandate continuous operation. Ross suggests these requirements deserve closer examination.
“There’s valid reasons for running something on continuous. We typically see it in pharmaceuticals,” Ross said. “You definitely must run them on continuous in pharma because they can’t handle that variation.”
Other temperature-sensitive products like line-haul leafy greens and single-product trailers may also benefit from continuous operation due to their narrow temperature tolerance. The typical temperature variation in start-stop mode—approximately five degrees from the OEM set point—can be problematic for the most sensitive loads.
Many other common loads, however, are perfectly suited for start-stop operation. The key lies in making evidence-based decisions rather than defaulting to continuous operation out of habit or unexamined caution.
“What I’ve seen over the last ten years is that there’s often not a lot of scientific studies to show that choosing continuous is the right way to go,” Ross said.
Technological advancements and data utilization
The proliferation of telematics, IoT sensors and integrated fleet management platforms has transformed how carriers can monitor and manage cold chain operations. These technologies enable real-time visibility and data-driven decision-making that was impossible just a few years ago.
EROAD leverages these technologies through its CoreHub platform, which collects data directly from the engine management system and other connected devices and sensors to transform vehicles into IoT hubs. This connectivity enables carriers to easily add an ELD, dashcam and a series of connected wireless sensors to track and monitor door alerts, concrete mixer drum rotations, water moisture levels and more.
With these advanced cold chain monitoring capabilities, carriers can now make precise, data-driven decisions about reefer operations rather than relying on assumptions or outdated practices. This shift toward evidence-based management represents a significant advancement in cold chain efficiency.
Sustainability and environmental considerations
Beyond the financial impact, reefer operating modes have significant environmental implications. As the focus on sustainability initiatives continues to grow across the transportation industry, this fact will become more pertinent.
“A lot of folks are leaning into sustainability,” Ross said. “So, it’s very difficult to say, ‘I’m gonna mandate that everything is run on continuous.’ If there’s a reason for it, there’s a reason for it. But if there’s not really a reason for it and you’re advertising sustainability, it’s a bit of a conflict.”
The emissions impact of unnecessary continuous operation directly affects both scope one and scope three emissions reporting, which are key metrics for companies with sustainability commitments. By optimizing reefer operations, carriers can make meaningful progress toward emissions reduction goals while simultaneously improving their bottom line.
The implications of precooling practices
Another area ripe for optimization involves precooling practices, or how long trailers run before loading. Industry data reveals that many fleets run reefers substantially longer than necessary before loading begins.
“It is very common across the industry that folks will go and switch on many trailers all at once during a specific block in the day,” Ross said.
The financial implications of excessive precooling are significant. Ross calculates that eliminating just one gallon of fuel per day from precooling operations would save a 500-trailer fleet nearly $650,000 annually. Even for a 100-trailer fleet, the savings exceed $129,000 per year.
One EROAD client discovered through data analysis that their precooling durations averaged 86 minutes—nearly twice the industry benchmark of 45 minutes. After just two weeks of measurement and targeted adjustments, they reduced average precooling time to just 12 minutes, generating substantial savings without requiring formal SOP changes.
The data paints a clear picture: through evidence-based management of reefer operations, cold chain carriers can realize substantial efficiency gains, cost savings and sustainability improvements. By challenging long-standing assumptions about operating modes and precooling practices, fleets can unlock millions in potential savings while maintaining product integrity.
The path forward doesn’t require radical operational changes but rather thoughtful application of data to refine existing processes. By leveraging advanced telematics and IoT solutions from companies like EROAD, carriers can gain the visibility needed to make these informed decisions, transforming their cold chain operations from sources of unnecessary cost to opportunities for competitive advantage.
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