Worker inspecting stacked refrigerated shipping containers, ensuring safety compliance and operational readiness — Worker inspecting stacked refrigera

How to

Everything you need to know about reefer containers, from temperature controls to dimensions

Preserve the quality of your goods in transit

Maintain ideal conditions for your temperature-sensitive cargo with purpose-built reefer containers.

Ship your delicate goods with confidence and keep them in peak condition while in transit.

Reefer containers maintain ideal conditions for temperature-sensitive cargo like fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products and pharmaceuticals.

The refrigeration unit ensures consistent temperature, humidity, and airflow throughout the journey, preserving product quality and shelf life.

Inside the KN container, white and reefer container — Inside the KN container

Key features of reefer containers

Containers are designed to maintain the temperature, humidity and atmosphere at a constant value. The machinery requires an electrical source at the depot, the terminal or on board a vessel or genset.

Standard reefer containers maintain temperatures between +25°C and -25°C for chilled and frozen cargo. Within the global reefer fleet, a certain number of containers support -35°C in addition to special super freezers that can maintain -70°C.

Air must flow through the cargo at all times to remove heat and gases. Fresh air ventilation is needed for fruits and vegetables, and for frozen goods, air must flow around the cargo. There must be no large gaps between the products and the walls and the cargo itself.

Some products benefit from a lower level of humidity in the air, which is why reefer units are designed with a dehumidification function. While some newer units can reach 50%, the standard is between 60% and 85% relative humidity (RH).

Drains release excess water that may accumulate inside the containers. Their design also prevents water or insects from entering the reefer.

Precise temperature control from +25°C to -70°C

Standard reefer containers can maintain temperatures between +25°C and -25°C, while specialised super freezer units can go as low as -70°C.

The environment is tailored to your cargo’s specific needs with adjustable settings for ventilation, humidity and drainage.

Optimise with standard or high cube containers

Microprocessor for monitoring and data logging
Pre-cooling brings cargo to the desired temperature
Compatible with Kuehne+Nagel’s tracking systems for real-time insights
Option for non-operating reefers to redistribute equipment

Technician conducting diagnostics on industrial equipment — Technician conducting diagnostics o

Reefer know-how

Preserving product integrity is always the priority.

While units maintain a specific environment, they do not bring the load to a desired temperature. Goods must be pre-cooled prior to loading, especially harvested fresh fruits and vegetables.

Reducing to the optimal transport temperature is essential for safeguarding quality and shelf life.

Customer shopping at the supermarket — Customer shopping at the supermarke

What can you ship in reefer containers?

Find more details about the types of goods suitable for transporting in temperature-controlled containers.

Learn more

Explore our related topics

Cargo is continuously monitored

Inside each container is an electronic temperature recorder that stores all the necessary data.

The device keeps track of the supply and return air temperature, defrost activity, changes to the setpoint, power on and off time and more.

Cargo probes can also be inserted directly into cold or frozen products to monitor and control the temperature during transport.

Worker efficiently loading goods into the KN container — Worker efficiently loading goods in

Technician conducting diagnostics on industrial equipment using a laptop — Technician conducting diagnostics o

Get insights into temperature data at any time

Kuehne+Nagel offers an additional, carrier-independent monitoring device (portable data logger) that is compatible with our tracking and tracing systems.

What are non-operating reefer (NOR) containers?

A NOR is a reefer container with the refrigeration unit turned off. Instead of carrying temperature-sensitive goods, NORs can carry select cargo when demand for returning refrigerated products is low. This process allows the equipment to be transported back to its origin or repositioned to another trade lane.

Reliable temperature-controlled shipping

Maintain ideal conditions for your perishable cargo

The best environment for sensitive goods

Adjust temperatures from +25°C to -70°C, as well as ventilation, humidity, and drainage settings, to meet specific needs.

Efficient loading and transport

Standard 20’ and 40’ high cube reefer containers let you optimised for easy loading and space utilisation.

Real-time monitoring at your fingertips

Gain visibility with microprocessors, data loggers, and tracking systems that are compatible with Kuehne+Nagel’s online applications.