Cold chain reference
A working reference for temperature-controlled truckload in North America. Your specification and your receiver's requirement always govern. This is where the conversation starts, not where it ends.
The rule
Whatever the table below says, the set point that counts is the one on the rate confirmation, agreed before the truck moves. A range in a reference document has never won a claim. A number on a rate confirmation, acknowledged by the carrier, frequently has.
| Commodity | Typical set point | Run mode | What goes wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Produce, cold tolerant | |||
| Apples, pears | 32–36°F | Continuous | Ethylene producer. Keep away from ethylene-sensitive product on mixed loads. |
| Leafy greens, lettuce | 32–34°F | Continuous | Highly sensitive to airflow blockage. Pallet configuration matters as much as set point. |
| Berries | 32–34°F | Continuous | Short shelf life. Field heat not removed before loading is the usual root cause. |
| Broccoli, carrots, cabbage | 32–34°F | Continuous | Tolerant, but ethylene sensitive. |
| Sweet corn | 32°F | Continuous | Loses sugar rapidly at higher temperatures. Speed matters more than for most produce. |
| Produce, chilling sensitive | |||
| Tomatoes | 55°F | Continuous | Chilling injury below roughly 50°F. Damage shows at the receiver, not on the download. |
| Bananas | 56–58°F | Continuous | Ripening programme dependent. Never run at produce temperatures. |
| Potatoes | 45–50°F | Cycle | Below 40°F converts starch to sugar and darkens on frying. Common and expensive error. |
| Cucumbers, peppers, squash | 45–50°F | Continuous | Pitting and water soaking below about 45°F. |
| Citrus | 40–48°F | Continuous | Varies by variety and origin. Confirm rather than assume. |
| Melons | 45–50°F | Continuous | Whole melons only. Cut product is a different specification entirely. |
| Dairy and cheese | |||
| Fluid milk | 34–38°F | Continuous | Receiver will pulp. Temperature at delivery is the only number that counts. |
| Cheese | 34–40°F | Continuous | Freezing damages texture irreversibly. Running too cold is as costly as running warm. |
| Yogurt, cultured | 34–40°F | Continuous | Tight band. Little tolerance either direction. |
| Butter | 32–40°F | Cycle | Frozen for longer transits. Confirm which programme applies. |
| Protein | |||
| Fresh beef, pork | 28–32°F | Continuous | Narrow band above freezing. Pre-cool verification is not optional. |
| Fresh poultry | 28–32°F | Continuous | Often shipped on ice. Confirm packaging before quoting. |
| Frozen protein | 0°F or below | Cycle | Any thaw and refreeze is visible to the receiver in the packaging. |
| Frozen and other | |||
| Ice cream, frozen dessert | −10 to −20°F | Continuous | The tightest common specification in food transport. Equipment capability matters. |
| Frozen bakery | 0°F | Cycle | Tolerant, but excursions show as condensation and packaging damage. |
| Floral | 33–38°F | Continuous | Extremely ethylene sensitive. Never load with ripening fruit. |
| Shell eggs | 45°F | Continuous | Regulated handling. Confirm the receiver's requirement before dispatch. |
The two errors that cost the most
The instinct when a load is valuable is to run it colder. For tomatoes, bananas, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers, citrus and melons, colder is the damage. Chilling injury does not show on a temperature download, because the unit did exactly what it was told. It shows at the receiver, days later, as pitting, water soaking, failure to ripen or discolouration on the fryer. The paperwork looks perfect and the load is rejected anyway.
Apples, pears, melons, avocados and tomatoes give off ethylene. Leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers and cut flowers are damaged by it. Put them in the same trailer at the same correct temperature and you can still deliver a rejected load. Compatibility is a separate question from set point, and it is the one most often skipped.
Continuous or cycle
The unit runs constantly, holding temperature and maintaining steady airflow through the load. Required for most fresh product, anything with a narrow band, and anything where air movement matters as much as the number. Uses more fuel. That is not a reason to change it.
The unit cycles off when it reaches set point and restarts when it drifts. Appropriate for frozen product and some packaged goods. On chill-sensitive fresh product it produces temperature swing and dead air, and the damage arrives without ever breaching the set point on the download.
If the rate confirmation does not state the run mode, the driver chooses. That is the argument nobody wants to be having at a receiver's dock.
Next step
Every number on this page is a starting point. What we actually do is put your number, your run mode and your receiver's requirements in writing before the truck moves, and verify the trailer was pre-cooled to meet them.
© 2026 Forza Logistics Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Eight questions from a 30-year shipper turned broker. Written for VPs of Supply Chain running an RFP this quarter.
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