The global cold chain market is predicted to reach $925.6 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 16.3% during 2021–2030. The growth is primarily attributed to the rising adoption of automated refrigerated warehouses integrated with connected devices.
Furthermore, the government efforts to reduce food waste, liberalization of trade, and expansion of multinational retail chains are expected to boost the industry growth. The increasing demand for perishable products and the need for quick delivery associated with e-commerce have resulted in a significant increase in cold chain operations.
The increasing demand for perishable products and rising government support for the development of cold chain infrastructure are set to drive the growth of the market in the coming years. Cold chain service providers are also adopting cutting-edge technologies to cater to the increasing demand for higher food safety and reduced wastage. This is expected to offer ample opportunities to multinational vendors to provide better cold chain solutions.
Logistics systems powered by IoT ensure the integrity of the cold chain solutions. This method automatically changes the network's separate systems to prevent exceeding humidity and temperature thresholds within trailers and warehouses. The data generated by these connected devices provides real-time audit trails to food safety specialists and aids supply chain planners in identifying and analyzing the root cause of cold chain concerns.
IoT devices that interact with corporate systems and one another allow for autonomous reactions across the warehouse and logistics operations. An intuitive supply chain is built on an integrated data-sharing framework, which includes intelligent storage racks that can monitor produce quality and expiration dates, drones that check stocks, autonomous vehicles that can schedule routes and plan loads without the need for humans, and robots with 3D vision, which can remove floppy greens from the shelves.
The development of supermarket, hypermarket, and convenience store chains is a major factor driving the growth of the market. Retail chains have developed to an extent where some of the producers have their own refrigerated warehousing facilities. With the growth of organized food retail, consumers get access to a wide array of fresh vegetables and fruits, meat and poultry products, dairy products, and other goods that require precise temperature control during storage and transportation. The majority of organized retail firms have become conscious of the fact that to efficiently manage their supply chains, a strong cold storage infrastructure is imperative.
Some major players in the cold chain market are Americold Logistics LLC, Agro Merchant Group, Burris Logistics Inc., Henningsen Cold Storage Company, Lineage Logistics LLC, Nordic Logistics, United States Cold Storage, Wabash National, Cold Chain Technologies Inc., and Cryopak Industries Inc.