The United States is home to not only a vast manufacturing sector, but also a quite large sector for transporting cargo and goods all over the place. Carrier firms may offer trucks, ships, trains, and jets to deliver goods to and from factories, warehouses, and retailers, and these carriers may work with brokers to arrange meetings with interested shipper clients. A carrier company will also concern itself with the sort of vehicles it has to offer, and reefer units can do a lot of good for truck companies. Today, most carrier companies are on the smaller side, and they have fleets of trucks to deliver goods. But some cargo loads call for temperature control, and ordinary truck trailers will not be fit for the job. What is a reefer trailer unit? Carrier reefers are refrigerated truck trailers that are often used for grocery items, and a company may look for used Thermo King brand trailers, among others, to equip their truck fleet properly. Looking for used Thermo King refrigeration units, or similar brands, allows a growing company to make its fleet more versatile. How can a manager find used Thermo King trailers that fit their budget? Should they take out loans?
All About Reefer Trailers
This is a quite large industry, and it is expected to grow even more in the coming years, according to experts. Today, some 500,000 reefer trailers are in operation across the United States, and the number of them being ordered is only growing with each year. And around the world, this huge industry is expected to grow further. In 2015, the worldwide refrigerated market was valued around $5 billion, and experts say that it may grow by another $2 billion by 2022 to reach a value close to %7.65 billion. And that market, according to the experts, may grow at a CAGR of 4.8% during that time, from 2016 to 2022 or so.
What about a reefer trailer on its own? This is a truck trailer with a refrigeration unit on it to keep cold air blowing inside it, and they can maintain an internal temperature ranging from -20 to 70 degrees or so, based on the needs of the cargo placed inside. Typically, these trucks will have insulated walls to help maintain that internal temperature, too. These reefers may range from 28 to 53 feet long, and some of the tallest of them may be 13.5 feet in height. The largest units weigh in at 44,000 pounds, and they can certainly carry a lot of chilled cargo in there. A reefer may arrive at a warehouse, and crews there will unload goods from an on-site freezer and load them into the reefer truck. From there, the reefer may arrive at a grocery store, and dock personnel will unload the goods from there to cooler units in the store. Groceries such as diary products, meats, and frozen foods may be delivered like this, while dry goods such as pasta or canned items may delivered in ordinary trucks. But what about the business of finding a used Thermo King or similar brand reefer for a company to use?
Truck Loans Done Right
A growing truck company may need some new truck types to make more deliveries, and the manager may decide to purchase one or more reefer trucks to start delivering cold items for grocery stores. As with ordinary trucks and trailers, this means taking out loans to purchase the reefer, but approaching big banks might not turn out well. Big banks are reluctant to lend to risky borrowers like these, but specialized truck lending companies may be more flexible. These lenders may look over the borrower’s personal and business credit scores, and check for red flags such as whether that borrower has declared bankruptcy or neglected loan payments in the past.
A loan may be approved for a new or used reefer trailer and truck, and the borrower might get a loan for 100% of the trailer’s value at a low interest rate if their credit score is good enough. A buyer may also want to look over gently used reefers in person and check for defects in the cooler unit, walls, or the wheels or suspension system before making a purchase.