According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Asia-Pacific Cold Chain Logistics Market by Business Type, End-use Industry, Product, and Technology: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2026," the Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market size was valued at $61,131.5 million in 2018, and is projected to reach $162,659.4 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 13.2% from 2019 to 2026.
Japan dominates the market, followed by India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Philippines. After Japan, India dominated the Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market, in terms of share, in 2018, whereas Vietnam is expected to grow at a significant rate during the Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market forecast.
Cold chain is defined as the technology, which is required to maintain a product within a specified low-temperature range from harvest/production to consumption. In addition, it is necessary to maintain the appropriate temperature conditions in the supply chain and monitor temperature-sensitive products. Cold storage, cooling systems, cold transport, and cold processing & distribution are the key elements in Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market.
It is important for the refrigeration units to be designed to maintain the temperature within the preferred range and prevent variation in the temperature. This implies that goods in the shipments should be brought to the required temperature before loading the shipment in the reefers, which require specialized storage and unloading/loading facilities.
A new range of reefers are available online, which are equipped with an array of sensors used to monitor the temperature inside and shut down the cooling system when necessary. In addition, shipping lines implement remote monitoring systems, which enable monitoring of humidity and location of reefers. Furthermore, these reefers are equipped with a wireless communication system and GPS device, providing updates to access any issue along the cold chain.
The major cold chain technologies that are used to provide temperature-controlled environment during transportation involve dry ice, gel packs, Eutectic plates, liquid nitrogen, quilts, and reefers. The temperature of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) is around −80°C, and has the capability to keep the shipments at a low temperature for an extended time. Gel pack consists of a phase changing substance, which can transform from liquid to solid and vice versa, is a commonly adopted solution to provide low temperature. Eutectic plates, also known as cold plates, work on the same principal as gel packs. In addition, liquid used in these plates can be reused multiple times. Liquid nitrogen is majorly used for the transportation of biological cargo such as organs and tissues.
The Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market is segment based on business type, end-use industry, product, technology, and country. Business type is bifurcated into cold storage and cold storage transportation. Cold storage is further segmented into refrigerated warehouse and automated warehouse. Cold chain transportation is subdivided into roadways, railways, waterways, and airways.
Depending on end-use industry, the market is categorized into fruits & vegetables; bakery & confectionary; dairy & frozen desserts; meat, fish, & sea food; drugs & pharmaceuticals; and others. On the basis of product, it is classified as refrigerators and air conditioning. By technology, it is segregated into air blown and eutectic. Country wise, the Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market analysis is done across Japan, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and rest of Asia-Pacific.
Factors such as increase in number of refrigerated warehouses and development of the pharmaceutical sector are expected to drive the growth of the Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market statistics. In addition, growth in processed food sector is anticipated to act as a key driver of the market. However, factors such as lack of standardization pertaining to operating procedures, security, temperature, pest control, and others and high operational cost restrain the Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market growth. On the contrary, availability of RFID technologies for cold chain applications and adoption of automated software for cold chain logistics are projected to offer lucrative growth opportunity for the market players.
Intermodal transportation of goods in cold chain logistics requires storage yards on the transport terminals, namely, ports, which account for around 1-5% of the total terminal capacity. The task is labor-dependent, as each container should be plugged & unplugged manually, and the temperature inside the reefers should be monitored regularly. Reefer stacking areas are dependent on three approaches, which include wheeled storage, stacked storage, and rack storage. In wheeled storage, reefers are placed on the chassis and are moved to the parking where each parking slot has a plug for electric reefers.
In addition, yard equipment such as reach stackers are used to stack the reefers up to three in height in stacked storage. Furthermore, in rack storage, reefers are stacked and stored in the rack systems that can hold around 20-30 reefers. Increase in need for cold storage and refrigerated transportation is propelling the growth of the Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market.
Key Findings of the Asia-Pacific Cold Chain Logistics Market :
Based on business type, cold storage segment is expected to maintain its lead throughout the forecast period.
By end-use industry, the dairy & frozen desserts segment is expected to grow at significant growth rate throughout the forecast period.
Regionally, in Asia-Pacific cold chain logistics market industry, Vietnam is anticipated to grow at a lucrative growth in the coming years.
The key players including United Parcel Service of America, Inc., OOCL Logistics Limited, JWD InfoLogistics Public Company Limited, Nichirei Logistics Group Inc., SCG Logistics Management Company Limited, X2 Logistics Networks ( X2 Group), AIT Worldwide Logistics, Inc., CWT Pte. Limited (CWT International Limited), SF Express, CJ Rokin Logistics, and others holds major Asia-Pacific Cold Chain Logistics Market Share.
