very day, thousands of items are shipped to and from Alaska, but some of them require a special kind of care. Temperature-controlled items, such as groceries, seafood, and pharmaceuticals, need to reach their destinations without being damaged, which not only requires specialized technology but also an expert understanding of how to best deliver “chill or frozen” cargo.

“Examples of chill freight are products such as dairy, eggs, meats, fruits, and vegetables, which often have a shorter shelf life, so it’s critical the supply chain runs effectively to transport these products to market,” explains Steve Hartmann, vice president of sales and marketing for Lynden Transport. “Frozen items are generally less time-sensitive and include things like ice cream, meats, pizzas, vegetables, and quick meal entrees—everything you’d find in the freezer section at the grocery store.

“Seafood is very important to Alaska and can be moved as either chill or frozen depending on the destination, packaging, and service level required,” he adds.

“Approximately 90 percent of our refrigerated services, which includes both freeze and chill, come northbound to Alaska’s consumer market. Of 1,000 shipments in and out of the state, only 100 are headed south,” he says.

“Our northbound shipments remain pretty consistent year-round; while there is a surge during tourist season, the state’s population usually remains around 730,000 people who eat and drink the same amounts every month.”

Major population centers such as Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, and communities in Southeast receive the bulk of the grocery items. Temperature-controlled freight moving out of Alaska largely comes from major seafood processing points like Dutch Harbor, Naknek, Kodiak, Cordova, Anchorage, Valdez, and points in Southeast.

“Most of the food moving into the state is moving for major grocery distribution centers from the Pacific Northwest,” says Hartmann. “There are some non-food items that move to Alaska; for example, every spring there are multiple loads of plants and flowers moving to the state that require protective temperature control.”

Carlile’s sister company, Northern Air Cargo, plays a bigger role in transporting fresh fish within the state before it makes its way to markets down south. “The catches from Bristol Bay as well as Norton Sound are put in fish totes, which are flown to Anchorage and typically picked up by customers like Copper River Seafood, Alaska General Seafood, E&E Seafood, Ocean Beauty Seafood, Trident Seafood, and more,” says Northern Air Cargo General Manager Gideon Garcia. “From Anchorage, it makes its way south by other means.”

Northern Air Cargo does not have chill or freeze on the aircraft, though it does have chill and freeze holding capabilities in its Anchorage warehouse.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each mode of transportation.

“Shipping vessels depart every Wednesday and Friday night from Tacoma to Anchorage, but Carlile’s OTR service going either north or south has the capability to depart every day of the week, which offers a lot more flexibility,” says Umatum. “When we get fresh fish in from Bristol Bay or Dutch Harbor, we can load the trailer at the dock and run down the highway. This gives us a real competitive advantage.”

Lynden utilizes all modes of transportation to cover Alaska, including barge, ship, plane, and truck. Typically barge and ship services are used for frozen loads that are less time-sensitive, and a combination of ship, truck, or air is used for chill/fresh loads.

And while keeping things cold in the summer months requires attentive care, it doesn’t end there. “As Alaskans know, it can get cold up here. And during the winter months, sometimes the challenge isn’t keeping products chilled but ensuring that they don’t freeze when they shouldn’t,” says Hartmann. “This is appropriately called our ‘keep from freezing’ service.”

“Though Lynden moves finished products ready for the grocery store, we also have specialty services for moving bulk commodities such as milk, wine, and fruit juices which have temperature control requirements,” he adds. “The most important thing we do is work closely with our customers to fully understand their products and their businesses, so we can develop and provide transportation solutions that meet or exceed their needs.”

“Temperatures can vary depending on the specific product; bananas, for example, often move at around 55˚F, warmer than a typical chill load, in order to best maintain product quality,” explains Hartmann, adding that the company typically moves more frozen loads than chilled loads.

“This is one of Lynden’s real strengths, whether it be refrigerated semi-trailer equipment or refrigerated container equipment,” says Hartmann. “We have the equipment that generates the most value for the customer or the biggest bang for the dollars spent.”

Proper packaging is also a very important part of the process. Bags, boxes, and other containers may be used in combination with things like ice, gel packs, and insulation blankets, depending on the product and the shipping mode.

Because ship and barge services both require significant electric generation equipment to power the refrigeration units, the vessels are equipped with monitoring technology to ensure proper temperatures are maintained. “Air service typically does not provide any real type of temperature control, so goods needing the speed of air service need to be packaged in a way to self-maintain the needed temperature, such as fresh fish on ice in totes,” adds Hartmann.

Carlile has its own specialized equipment, including customized refrigeration units. “Unlike our dry vans, the refrigerated units have a separate motorized refrigeration system on the nose of the trailer, as well as specialized curtains, skirting, and floors,” says Felix. “These trucks are heavier than dry vans because they require more steel and aluminum to build them to our specifications, which include fully insulated walls designed to handle the rigors of ambient external temperatures.”

“The products never leave a temperature-controlled environment, so the cold chain isn’t broken,” says Forbes, adding that AFF is the only freight forwarder in the industry with this capability. “With such a focus on food quality these days, we thought it was important to make this investment in infrastructure at our origin and destination points to protect food safety and our customers.”

“If a customer does a lot of volume in a given lane, they may be able to negotiate a discounted rate based on repeat, sustainable business volume,” says Felix, giving the example of a large grocery retailer that moves more than 90 percent of its products from Washington to Alaska. “For an infrequent shipper, it’s going to be more of a challenge to negotiate a discount because you pay more of a premium for inconsistency.

“The market is also driven by asset utilization; for example, how many trailers there are in the state at any given time,” he adds. “During fishing season when they’re harvesting salmon, it’s a melee going southbound. The sheer volume of product coupled with a lack of transportation assets makes the price go up, and smaller competitors that are not necessarily asset-based sometimes have a hard time controlling services during the surge in summer months.”

Whether going north or south, shippers who take on the challenge of Alaska’s chill and frozen freight make it a priority to provide the fastest, most efficient mode of transport while preserving food safety.