The cold chain is in the midst of a major transition as we move on from the pandemic, adjust to new post-Brexit trade flows and accelerate on the path to net zero.
In July we published The Cold Chain Report 2022, the first ever report bringing together the up-to-date information on cold storage and temperature-controlled vehicles which is so crucial to understanding exactly what is changing in our industry, and how. The report looks at a whole raft of areas, from where in the UK cold chain facilities are located, to TRU numbers, to cold store sizes and ages.
I’d like to highlight two datasets which are particularly telling.
The first is the new analysis in the report showing that electricity spend for the UK’s cold storage facilities has doubled between 2021 and 2022, growing from £560.6 million in 2021 to an estimated £1.1 billion for 2022. With energy prices rocketing, the cost of refrigerating cold storage facilities has soared despite the strong progress made over the past decade on the road towards energy efficiency. There’s no expectation of a quick resolution to energy prices: our industry’s efforts on energy efficiency have never been more urgent.
The second dataset I have picked out tells a much more positive story, showing that the UK cold storage capacity of CCF members now tops 40 million cubic metres, the equivalent to the bowl volume of 35 Wembley Stadiums. This represents a 10% increase in capacity in a year, an expansion which is great news for the UK economy, for consumers who benefit from resilience in the food supply chain, and for our industry as we turn towards an exciting future.
Over the past three years the cold chain has earned new appreciation among politicians and policy makers, and the new Cold Chain Report provides the data to help us ensure the cold chain industry’s voice is heard. As the industry’s federation we are committed to researching, gathering and analysing data that serves and informs our industry and we look forward to working with our members to grow the report by creating useful new datasets to add to next year’s report.
Find The Cold Chain Report 2022 at www.coldchainfederation.org.uk
Shane Brennan
Chief Executive
Comments are closed.