Produce, protein, dairy and frozen
Reefer loads pay for precision: the right temperature, the right appointment and a clean trailer. We book refrigerated freight around your unit, your hours and your home time, and every load is offered to you before it is booked. The rate con comes to you.
Reefer
Produce, meat, dairy, frozen food and pharma at set temperatures
Reefer
5%Moving food by truck in the US falls under the FDA's Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food rule, 21 CFR Part 1, Subpart O. It covers shippers, loaders, carriers and receivers. For a carrier, the core duties are simple to say and harder to do every week: keep the trailer and equipment in sanitary condition, keep it able to hold the temperature the food needs, and protect the load from contamination by the previous load. 21 CFR Part 1, Subpart O; FDA FSMA rule pageChecked October 2026
When a carrier agrees with the shipper to be responsible for sanitary conditions, its people must be trained in sanitary transportation practices and the training documented. Written procedures, agreements and training records are kept for set periods, up to 12 months depending on the record. FDA FSMA Sanitary Transportation rule pageChecked October 2026
We read the shipper's instructions before we offer you a load, and we tell you the temperature, any pre-cooling and any continuous or cycle setting on the call, so nothing on the bill of lading surprises you at the dock.
Appointments first. Refrigerated freight runs on appointments at both ends, and food warehouses don't wait. We check that the pickup and delivery windows are realistic on your hours of service before we call you, not after you are already late.
Lumpers and detention on paper. Grocery and food distribution centers often use lumpers and often keep trucks waiting. We confirm who pays the lumper, how reimbursement works and when detention starts before you accept the load.
The season, not just the load. Produce moves in a rotation through the year. We follow the active shipping areas so your truck can position for the next busy region instead of fighting over the last load out of a quiet one.
Dry freight when it makes sense. A reefer can haul dry loads with the unit off. When a refrigerated backhaul isn't there, a dry load home can beat an empty trailer. We check trailer cleanliness rules before mixing.
Your unit and your fuel. A reefer unit burns fuel and needs upkeep. We price loads on the whole trip, including the unit's running time on long, cold runs, so the rate per mile you hear is the one that matters.
You approve every load. We call with the lane, temperature, appointments and rate before booking. The broker sends the rate confirmation to you to sign. If you say no, we keep looking, and you owe nothing for the load you passed on.
The expensive day in reefer work is the rejected load: a receiver finds product out of temperature, or damage they blame on the trip. Your defense is records. Pulp temperatures at pickup if the shipper allows it, the setpoint on the bill of lading, notes on any delay, and the unit's download for the whole trip.
If a load is rejected, call the desk before you leave the dock. We work with the broker on what happens next, whether that is a salvage buyer, a return or a second inspection, and we keep you from signing anything that accepts blame you don't owe.
Produce is seasonal, shipped from growing areas, often with multiple pickups and tight harvest timing. Protein moves year-round from plants on strict schedules and strict temperatures. Dairy is steady and short-haul heavy, with many grocery deliveries. Frozen needs a unit that can hold deep setpoints for days without failing.
Each pays and behaves differently. We learn which of them suits your unit, your lanes and your patience for waiting at docks, and steer your loads that way.
Your authority and safety record, liability and cargo insurance with reefer breakdown coverage, the unit's make and condition, and sometimes the age of the trailer. Food shippers may ask for your sanitary transportation procedures and training records. High-value protein often needs higher cargo limits.
We send your packet only where your trailer and coverage fit, so a week isn't lost on approvals for freight you can't take.
A reefer unit that stops on a loaded trailer is a clock running against the product. Call the desk first. We tell the broker straight away, find the nearest service that can work on your unit, and look at whether a transload to another truck makes more sense than waiting. The faster everyone knows, the more of the load usually survives, and the easier the claim conversation becomes.
Prevention is cheaper. Service the unit on schedule, check fuel before cold runs and keep the download working, because a load with no temperature record is a load you can't defend. A spare belt and a fuel stop planned before the long cold stretch have saved more loads than any phone call.
Reefer freight shifts across the map through the year as harvests move. A truck that sits in a quiet region waiting for loads earns less than one that ends its week where the next harvest is starting. The weekly USDA report's truck availability column is a good early signal: a region moving toward shortage is usually where reefer rates firm up.
We plan the last load of each week with that in mind, as long as it fits your home time. You always decide whether to chase the season or stay closer to home, and we plan around that choice instead of arguing with it.
Say a produce load pays the carrier $3,800 for a 1,600 mile run. At the standard rate the dispatch fee is $190 and you keep $3,610. On a new MC the fee would be $266, and in a fleet of 2 or more trucks $152. Those numbers are an example, not a quote.
Getting set up is free, there's no minimum, and a parked reefer costs you nothing. Before you take any load, check the real margin with the load profitability calculator, unit fuel included. All tiers are explained on the dispatch fee page.
Running a dry van too, or thinking about it? A reefer can do both jobs, but the reverse isn't true. That flexibility is one reason reefer owners often get through slow weeks better than van-only carriers, as long as the trailer is kept clean enough for food.
5% of gross on each load for one truck on an MC older than 6 months, 7% while the MC is under 6 months, and 4% per truck for fleets of 2 or more while that limited-time rate runs. No setup fee, no minimums and nothing in a week you don't haul. The agreement is month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice.
The FDA Sanitary Transportation rule, 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart O. Carriers must keep trailers clean and able to hold the required temperature, and when they agree to be responsible for sanitary conditions they must train their people and document it. Shippers usually set the temperature and pre-cooling requirements in writing.
There isn't one season; there is a rotation. Different growing areas ship heavily at different times of year, and the USDA truck rate report shows each week which areas are active and how tight trucks are there. We follow that rotation so a reefer can move with the freight instead of waiting for it.
Yes, though some produce and protein shippers want carriers with a track record. We start with brokers that book new authorities, choose straightforward early loads with clear temperature instructions and build your history from there. Make sure your insurance includes reefer breakdown coverage, because brokers often ask for it.
The receiver or shipper normally bears the cost, but the driver often pays at the dock and is reimbursed by the broker with a receipt, if the rate con allows it. Grocery and food warehouses use lumpers a lot. We confirm lumper terms before you accept, and you send the receipt the same day.