Refrigerated Trailer Market

Increasing Consumption of Ready-to-eat Food to Benefit Refrigerated Trailer Market

Across several parts of the world, economic growth and changing lifestyles are indirectly benefiting the global refrigerated trailer market. Rising urbanization coupled with a growing middle class population are leading to increasing adoption of ready-to-eat food that does not require preparation.

Increasing practice of nuclear family setups along with rising women in the workforce does not leave adequate time for fresh cooking on a regular basis. This has fueled demand for ready-to-eat food products that are transported through safe temperature controlled transportation channels.

In addition, with the rising demand for perishable food such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and seafood, cold chain capacity is predicted to expand significantly especially in emerging economies. This, in turn, is likely to drive demand for efficient refrigerated food transportation and cold storage infrastructure. The rising demand for dairy products is also acting in favor of the refrigerated trailer market. Rising awareness about the health benefits of dairy products such as yogurt and cheese is leading to their increased demand.

Consumers worldwide are incorporating dairy products in their everyday diet that are a good source of protein and essential minerals. The easy availability of dairy products in on-the-go packaging formats is leading to their increasing consumption among office goers and students. The transportation of dairy products, however, requires reliable cold chains and refrigerated vehicles with temperature controlled environment in order to prevent spoilage and maintain safety of foodstuff.

Besides this, implementation of stringent government norms to increase food safety and reduce food wastage especially in emerging economies such as India and China is anticipated to create significant demand for refrigerated trailers in the future. Increasing capital expenditure of third-party logistics businesses is a key factor behind the growth of the refrigerated trailer market.

Truck trailers both refrigerated and non-refrigerated are major assets of third-party logistics companies that are routinely upgraded with latest technology to meet changing consumer demand and improve operational efficiency. These companies operate refrigerated trailers for a period of about 3-5 years, following which they are discarded and new ones purchased. This is boosting the refrigerated trailer market.

A strong demand for replacement of refrigerated trailers is a key trend that has come to the fore in recent years. Companies in leading domestic markets such as the U.S. replace commercial transportation fleet regularly to upgrade their technological capabilities that can minimize turnaround time. Considering these driving factors, the global refrigerated trailer market is predicted to rise at a CAGR of 5.05% for the forecast period between 2017 and 2021.

Rising Initiatives to Manufacture Low-weight Vehicles to Open New Market Opportunities

On the flip side, rising costs of hiring truck drivers, hike in fuel prices, and increasing truck prices are some of the factors spiking operational costs for logistics companies. This, in turn, lowers their profits thereby reducing their inclination towards making new purchases of refrigerated trailers.

Increasing investments and R&D initiatives for the manufacturing of reduced weight vehicles is likely to offer new opportunities to the refrigerated trailer market. The newer vehicles will help curb carbon emissions and improve fuel efficiency that are drawbacks of predecessor vehicles.

Stringent Government Regulations for Safe Transportation of Food Makes North America Dominant Regional Market

Among the key product types, chilled refrigerated trailers account for the leading segment in the global refrigerated trailer market. However, frozen refrigerated trailers are anticipated to surpass in terms of growth rate in the upcoming years. In terms of end use, meat and seafood is the leading segment mainly because of increasing consumption of meat and seafood. North America is the leading regional market for refrigerated trailers mainly because of strict government regulations that monitor safe transportation of food products.