The Best Shipping Materials for Temperature-Controlled Shipments

  Whether you’re fighting against the sizzling summer sun or the whipping of the winter wind, keeping freight at the right temperature is a key concern for many shippers. Goods that aren’t stored in the right environmental conditions can be damaged or destroyed. They can even become dangerous, in the case of foodstuffs and some industrial chemicals. Many excellent options for temperature-controlled freight shipping are available from logistics providers. However, it’s important to have another line of defense ready. Temperature-controlled shipping materials from AirSea Containers are designed to protect your sensitive goods from environmental conditions while providing excellent value for your business. In this post, we’ll talk about some common considerations for temperature-controlled shipping, as well as the powerful and cost-effective solutions AirSea Containers can provide to address them.

Things to Consider When Selecting Temperature Control Solutions

Many factors can come into play when deciding on temperature and environment solutions for your goods. The more you’re able to take these into consideration the more holistic your solutions will be. This, in turn, creates a safer environment for your goods. Several of the most important considerations include:

• Temperature-controlled freight shipping is widely available from most major freight carriers and some smaller ones. Typical options include both refrigeration and heat for vehicles and warehouses. Make sure to ask what services your carrier provides and the specific temperatures their vehicles are rated for. A reliable carrier should also be able to provide receipts upon arrival of the average cargo temperature.
• Using a refrigerated trailer is a great option for goods that need cool temperatures. However, there’s a tradeoff: the extra layer of insulation in these trailers means a smaller cargo area. Be sure to communicate with your carrier about space restrictions for refrigerated shipping.
• For hazmat chemical shippers, ensure that you’ve consulted all the relevant safety regulations.
• If you’re using dry ice as a chemical refrigerant, keep in mind that freight carriers consider it to be a hazardous material and will likely require special safety steps on your part. (For shippers who are considering dry ice, our eco-friendly refrigerant gel can often be a superior alternative.)
• Temperature, of course, isn’t the only factor to look at. You’ll also need to have the normal protections against cargo damage such as our recyclable dunnage air bags and shrink or stretch wrap.

Keeping Your Cool

Refrigerated shipping is one of the most common cargo needs in the freight industry. Goods from food to medical supplies to industrial chemicals can all require cooling technology to ship safely. AirSea offers powerful and flexible solutions for these applications, such as:

• Our gel freezer packs, which are safer, cleaner and more environmentally friendly than dry ice. They offer the same solid-freeze performance you expect and are exceptionally cost-effective. Moreover, unlike dry ice, they’re reusable, recyclable, biodegradable and non-toxic.
• AirSea’s insulated Styrofoam coolers are complete cooling solutions ideal for a wide range of refrigerated shipping applications. Each comes as a complete kit with a base, lid, and shipping box for maximum insulation and protection.
• We also offer Bio-Freeze Packs for our customers in the biological sciences. These are UN-rated for the transport of biohazard materials and include everything you need to safely transport potentially hazardous biological specimens.

AirSea’s insulated cooler packs are a complete cargo insulation solution.

Warming It Up

Sometimes, particularly in frozen winter weather, you’ll need to keep cargo warm rather than cooling it. AirSea has great options for these applications as well. Our cargo heating solutions are perfect for keeping materials at a stable, warm temperature. Check out what we have to offer:

• InteliHeat® drum warmers and accessories are a complete range of cargo warming devices. These include the popular Thermosafe® coil induction heater, heated PVC covers, and more. They’re available to fit a wide variety of our cargo shipping containers, including five-gallon buckets, steel and plastic shipping drums and IBC totes.
• Thermulate® gas bottle heating jackets are a leap forward in gas bottle heating technology. They’re perfect for labs that require a constant flow of gases at a steady temperature and are safe for 24/7 use.
• Powerblanket® insulated cargo heaters are an easy-to-use heating solution for warming cargo up to 100ºF. These elegantly simple insulated heaters include features such as adjustable thermostats to set the ideal temperature and Rapid-Ramp technology to get your cargo up to temperature quickly and reliably.

Temperature-sensitive shipping is a common challenge in logistics that shippers and freight carriers work together every day to overcome. With a little assistance from the packaging professionals at AirSea Containers, it can be smooth, easy, and most importantly, safe.