Although the containerisation in transport is continuing, the reefer market is going through a tough time. Yet Maersk is investing fully in this segment. Last year 30,000 reefer containers were added to fleet. The containers are fitted with a following system, which allows the shipping company to follow every reefer in almost real-time. Shereen Zarkani, Head of Reefer Management, and Catja Horth Rasmussen (Head of Remote Container Management) explain the reefer market.
“It’s a difficult market and the last few years have been tough,” says Shereen (left). “There is an oversupply in the market, so you really need added value.” Fruit and vegetables make up the largest part of the reefer transports at the Danish shipping company. Besides this, meat and protein products and fish and seafood are large segments. Together those product groups are worth 70 to 80 percent of the total volume.
More demand from upcoming markets
On the long term Maersk expects the reefer container to penetrate the market previously dominated by bulk. “This tendency has been going on for years and there has been hardly any investment in new reeferships for bulk for a number of years in the sector.” The number of shipments in the reefer segment, however, is increasing. “We see that more intensive reefer services are coming up. The trade patterns are also shifting.” Whereas previously ships mainly went between the emerging/developing economies in the south and the developed economies in the north, the trade exchange between the emerging economies is increasing. “For instance, we are seeing more demand for reefers in the trade between South America and Asia,” says Shereen.
To play a key role in this market, the Danish shipping company continues to invest in new reefers. Last year the reefer fleet was extended by 30,000 new reefers. “These containers are fitted with the latest technologies,” says Catja (right). She is responsible for the Remote Container Management system (RCM). “We collect data from the entire reefer fleet, around 262,000 containers in total, including the GPS location, temperature and humidity. This way we always know where a container is.”
Treasure trove of data
A treasure trove of data is collected. The shipping company is now working on ways to process and analyse this data. “We know exactly what’s happening with the reefer. We learn from this information.” At the moment the data isn’t immediately insightful for the customer, but Catja is confident that they will also be able to benefit from the improvements this system brings. “In case we notice any issues that we need to look into, the data could immediately tell us what went wrong and where. The data can be used in a claim. Then the data could give insight into where it went wrong.”
The goal is to optimise the processes with the collected data. The process at the docks can be speeded up, which allows the reefers to be ready for use sooner. The containers are now all manually controlled by an engineer. That process often takes up a day. “That’s a waste of time if a reefer is functioning without any issues,” explains Catja. “This is why the reefer can sound an alarm through the RCM when something is broken, so that only those containers are repaired.”
Predicting defects
In the future the data may also predict what reefers will show a defect. “This should eventually lead to a reduction in damaged freight and improve the treatment of the cargo. This will allow us to deliver faster.”
In the harbour the reefers use the GSM network. On the open sea the reefers send the data through satellite. The satellite is contacted every thirty minutes to send the data through. “Eventually we can adjust the reefer’s settings at a distance to ship the load in the ideal conditions.”
