By John Fossey

Frank Ganse, the global director of reefer logistics and perishable cargo at Kuhne + Nagel (K+N), has alluded to standards as slipping in the global maritime reefer business. He also called for ocean carriers to take the business sector seriously.

Speaking at Cool Logistics in Hamburg, the executive pointed to an increase in the number of reefer machinery breakdowns and to a three/four times rise in the number of incorrect temperature, ventilation and humidification settings for the equipment.

'We have also seen more dirty reefers delivered and while the actual numbers are small the signs are worrying,' he said.  'As we employ dedicated and highly qualified reefer truck drivers, we have spotted these problems and dealt with them.'But it begs the question. Are these incidents resulting from the severe cost-cutting programmes and the financial plight of the ocean carriers?'

Ganse [pictured] warned that service providers involved in the perishable products sector needed to take the business seriously and that failure to do this would result in 'ones hands being seriously burned'.

For container shipping lines, he said dedicated teams were needed and that an independent approach and global network were advantageous. 'If carriers are serious about this business, the schedules should be flexible and carriers should be capable of adjusting their services according to a product's seasonality, but few do,' he suggested.

K+N has gained a significant slice of the global container reefer business, which Ganse estimated to be worth about nine million TEU a year. 'We move about 90,000 reefer TEU a year and have averaged growth of 24% a year for the past five years,' he said. 'This year our volumes will rise by 10%.'    

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