Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage

Cold storage operators have historically acted as middlemen between manufacturers and grocery or convenience store retailers. They provide storage and distribution services for domestic and international clients. These operators have been able to meet the needs of their clients by offering, through the latest technology, an efficient and inexpensive way to store goods.

General refrigerated storage capacity in the United States totaled 2.5 billion in 2007, a decrease from 3.21 billion gross cubic feet in 2005. New construction accounted for most of the increase, but a portion was due to extended survey coverage by the United States Department of Agriculture. The five states with the largest gross general warehouse capacity in 2005 were California, Florida, Washington, Wisconsin, and Texas, the same five that have led in gross general warehouse capacity since the 1990s. Public general warehouse capacity totaled 2.44 billion gross cubic feet in 2005, an increase of 40 percent since 1995. Public general storage capacity accounted for 75 percent of the general storage, while private and semiprivate general warehouse capacity, which totaled 822 million gross cubic feet in 2007, accounted for 25 percent.

Companies that otherwise would have to operate large warehouses and spend considerable resources on computerized tracking systems are able to avail themselves of services from the cold storage operators. Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, cold storage operators developed expertise through experimentation and the application of new technology that food manufacturers were anxious to use. As the production of this expertise became costly and time-consuming for food manufacturers, they elected to outsource their food storage needs to refrigerated storage experts. Demand for frozen foods, especially those that contain no preservatives, an evolving market trend since the 1970s, benefited the industry.

The top public refrigerated warehouses in the United States for 2008, according to the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses, included AmeriCold Logistics of Atlanta, Georgia, with 72 facilities and 300 million cubic footage; Millard Refrigerated Services of Omaha, Nebraska, with 27 facilities and 192 million cubic footage; U.S. Cold Storage of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, with 33 facilities and nearly 141.5 million cubic footage; and Total Logistic Control, Zeeland, Michigan, a subsidiary of SUPERVALU, one of the nation's largest food wholesalers, with 30 facilities and 72.8 million cubic footage. In terms of revenue, Americold Logistics had estimated sales of $314.7 million in the mid-2000s, followed by Millard Refrigerated Services with $185.8 million, U.S. Cold Storage with $83 million, and Total Logistic Control with $470 million.