Reefer Container

A reefer is an insulated container or truck body fitted with an active refrigeration unit that holds a set temperature regardless of ambient conditions. It is not a cool box — it actively removes heat and can typically hold anything from deep-frozen to controlled ambient.

The refrigeration unit needs its own power. On the road it runs from a diesel-driven genset or off the vehicle's engine; at a terminal or plant it plugs into mains. The gap between those two is where cold-chain failures cluster: a reefer disconnected during a long yard wait is a chain break even though nothing looks wrong from outside.

Because the unit consumes fuel independently of the vehicle, reefer operating cost has to be tracked separately. A fleet costing reefer trips on truck fuel alone will systematically understate cost per kilometre on exactly its most demanding work.