Today, the United States is home to a vast manufacturing sector, along with a huge farming sector, but all those finished goods and foodstuffs need to be transported somehow. To move items from factories and warehouses, these shipper clients may turn to freight carrier companies, which may offer vehicles such as jets, trains, ships, and truck to deliver those goods. Larger companies offer jets for fast deliveries and ships to export goods around the world, while most of the (many) small carrier companies will instead offer fleets of carrier trucks for the job. Trucks are affordable, and they can travel nearly anywhere on land, and they may use a variety of specialized trailers. For example, reefer units can transport cold items inside, and a carrier company owner may want to buy reefer trailers to expand their shipping options. To buy reefer trailers, a company owner may look up something such as “wholesale reefer units near me” or something even more specific, such as “used Thermo King refrigeration units near me.” What is there to know about this industry?
The Market for Reefer Units
A carrier company owner who is looking to buy reefer trailers is getting into a lucrative market, one that is popular around the world. Just what is a reefer unit? For those not familiar with them, a reefer unit is simply a refrigerated truck trailer, designed to carry cold and perishable items inside, such as groceries. These trailers will have insulated walls to keep external heat out, and they also boast air conditioning units that will keep the interior chilled. Based on the cargo’s needs, that interior can be chilled to -20 degrees Fahrenheit all the way up to 70 degrees. Such trailers also vary somewhat in size, ranging from 28 to 53 feet long. The largest units may be as tall as 13.5 feet and weigh up to 44,000 pounds, and they can carry a lot of goods at once.
The market for these is strong and still growing. Around 500,000 reefer units are in operation across the United States, and the number of orders per year is growing. Experts also believe that around the world, the market for reefers is going to grow, and from 2016 to 2022, it will expand at a CAGR of 4.8%, to reach an estimated market value of $7.65 billion by 2022 or so.
As mentioned earlier, reefer units are popular for transporting perishable goods, such as groceries, since these items would spoil in regular truck trailers. In fact, warehouses and grocery stores alike have freezers and cooler units on site, and workers may load cold items from those freezers onto a reefer truck at a warehouse. Then, once the truck arrives at a grocery store’s dock, staff there will unload the cold items and store them in on-site freezer units. Dry goods and the like will probably arrive on board regular trucks instead.
Financing Reefer Trailers
A carrier company owner who wants to expand their shipping options to grocery stores may look for wholesale reefer trailers online, and choose from among new or used units, or consider both routes. To buy reefer trailers that are used, the buyer may find some local units at a discount price, and inspect them in person (and possibly test them) before offering a deal. The buyer may look over a unit’s wheels and axles, the wiring in its air cooler units, and more. New units are more expensive, but they will be in perfect condition and will probably come with factory warrants.
As for financing, big banks don’t often approve loans to small truck companies, but specialized truck lending companies will be more cooperative. These lenders understand the nature and risks of the trucking industry, though they will still look into a lender’s history and check for red flags such as delinquent loans or bankruptcy. Also, these specialized lenders may approve loans even to borrowers with mediocre or poor credit, though this may mean a higher interest rate. A borrower with good business and personal credit, meanwhile, might get up to 100% of the trailer’s value in a loan, and at a good interest rate. Either way, it will be a secure loan, with the trailer acting as collateral.
