The Cool History of Refrigerated Logistics
We already know you’re smart. After all, you’ve taken a few minutes out of your day to read this Dallas refrigerated logistics blog. That was a wise move, my friend! Not only are you smart for clicking on this link, you’ll be even smarter by the time you’re done reading it.
In this Dallas refrigerated logistics blog, you’ll get a cool history lesson.
No, really. A cold history lesson.
The Dallas refrigerated logistics team is giving you the facts behind one of our most popular methods of transportation: refrigerated deliveries.
As an industry, we really owe our refrigerated trucks to the railroad system. The transcontinental railway made it possible to move goods across the country fast. Well…faster than walking, that is. Farmers and ranchers were now able to reach outside their small customer base, as their goods could now make it all over the country.
However, this method wasn’t quite fast enough to keep farmers’ perishable goods, like meat and produce, from spoiling. For that, farmers needed a way to keep their food cool during transport. In 1842, Western Railroad of Massachusetts began dabbling with cooling cars, train cars filled with blocks of ice. Unfortunately, if the weather was too warm, the ice would just melt. This meant the cooling car method only worked in cooler weather.
Not exactly ideal.
In 1851, the Northern Railroad created insulated cars filled with ice. The temperature remained relatively cold due to the insulation, and a fan driven by the truck’s motor blew around the cold air. This method was a little better, but it still only worked when it was cool outside. And even with the insulation and fan, truckers still had to stop every 200-300 miles to fill up on ice.
The first mechanical refrigeration compartments are said to have gained popularity in 1939. The story goes that trucking executive Harry Werner was playing golf with Joseph Numero, a sound systems manufacturer for movie theaters. Werner was discussing the need for a way to ship manufactured meats across the US without them spoiling. Knowing Numero’s creativity, Werner tasked his friend with creating a refrigerated tractor trailer.
Numero turned to an inventor who had helped him in his theater business- Fred Jones. In 1939, Jones and Numero received a patent for an air conditioning device that could cool trucks mechanically. It was a portable cooling unit that went on the outside of containers and used the vehicle’s motor as power. This device, though created for the trucking industry, could be used in all sorts of transportation, from trains to boats.
This was great timing for the duo. As the US entered into WWII, the military sought out the new refrigerated device and used Numero and Jones’s product in order to get food to their troops. They didn’t stop at food, though. These new units carried life saving blood and medicines during the war, as well. This gave the refrigerated truck a giant leap into mainstream transportation. As trucking became the most popular way to ship perishable goods, the need for refrigerated, or reefer, trucks rose, as well.
Today, reefer trucks haul everything from produce to medical supplies, to chemicals. The temperature of the cargo hold can be specific, anything from -4 degrees to 40 degrees, you name it!
Instead of the loud, retrofitted trailers, reefer trucks now have improved refrigeration that is fueled by diesel engines. Drivers are now able to know the temperature of their cargo just by checking out their dashboard. Should a problem arise, drivers are able to correct issues as needed- without filling it with ice cubes!
From chilled to frozen, to downright arctic, our refrigerated transport Dallas team has you covered thanks to years of refrigerated trucking improvement.
Pretty cool, wouldn’t you say?