All thawed out
(Photo: Misfits Market)
Fulfillment for perishable goods seems to be the new trend for 2024. Misfits Market, a direct-to-consumer brand, is another company to launch its own fulfillment service. Previously, we had Grip’s announcement.
Fulfilled by Misfits, FBM for short, is a dedicated service for perishable brands to store, pick, pack, fulfill and deliver their products nationwide through Misfits’ logistics platform. There is a large need for fulfillment services for small-to-medium-size e-commerce perishable shippers. The jump from outgrowing a storefront to building or renting space in a multimillion-dollar warehouse is a massive one that has a large price tag that doesn’t work for those looking to scale up at a reasonable rate.
Abhi Ramesh, founder and CEO of Misfits Market, was quoted as saying, “At Misfits Market, we’re always looking for ways to reimagine the food system and eradicate food waste by finding value in places others don’t look.”
Temperature checks
It’s 2024. We might be a few years off from the Jetsons’ world of flying cars and robot maids. However, through technological advancements, we are getting closer to that world daily. Making a jump in innovation is Interstate Cold Storage. It recently announced the purchase of two state-of-the-art lift trucks that are anticipated to streamline and optimize processes at its Columbus I facility in Ohio.
Don Chambers, director of operations at Interstate Cold Storage, emphasizes the significance of this investment, stating, “While the addition of these lift trucks may seem incremental, the impact is far-reaching. This advanced equipment allows us to handle products with heightened efficiency, meeting the dynamic demands of our customers and contributing to substantial operational dividends.”
Food and drugs
While the rest of the football world focuses on the two teams in varying shades of red chasing after each other, yours truly will be investigating every dip and providing a ranking of them. It’s a time-honored tradition, for the second-largest eating day of the year is Super Bowl Sunday. This year, Americans are expected to repeat the record-setting number of wings consumed last year, 1.45 billion pounds’ worth. The real hero of the Super Bowl, though, is the avocado. No party is complete without the one and only guacamole.
This year, according to the National Retail Federation, the U.S. will spend $17.3 billion on the Super Bowl, a 5% jump from 2023. For those who don’t consume avocado toast on the regular, the Super Bowl accounts for 20% of annual U.S. avocado sales. I think no matter who dances in the confetti, avocados are the real heroes of the Super Bowl.
Avocados are primarily shipped in reefer trailers, making late January and early February a tight time for the cross-border reefer market. Throw in the excessive beer that is imported for the big game and suddenly that cross-border reefer market is the saving grace of the slow freight market that comes every year in January and February.
Cold chain lanes
SONAR Tickers: ROTVI.MCI, ROTVI.SFO
This week’s SONAR chart is the Reefer Outbound Tender Volume Index for both Kansas City, Missouri, and San Francisco, the homes of the two teams vying for the Lombardi Trophy this weekend. Outbound tender volumes in San Francisco took a dive to end the year and have yet to bounce back to previous levels. This time of year is known for being quiet in the freight world, and that’s right on track in San Francisco. On the other hand, Kansas City has been wildly consistent in its freight volumes for the past few months, but this is the lowest volume KC has seen in the past three years.
Could it be a prediction of who will win this weekend? Probably not, but if the Chiefs play consistently and the 49ers are all over the place, then maybe freight markets can predict football games.
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Shelf life
George Lucas buys cold storage facility in LA’s Chinatown
Clayco begins construction on cold storage facility in St. Louis
USDA announces $270M awarded to build food supply chain resiliency
Leonard’s Express recognized for third consecutive year as a Best Fleet To Drive For
Hub Group Inc to acquire Choptank Transport Inc.
Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.
See you on the internet.
Mary
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