How Reefer Loads Are Dispatched: Temps, Pulp Checks and Seasons

The six checks before a reefer load reaches you

A dry van load can go wrong in a few ways. A reefer load can go wrong in a dozen, and most of them start with something nobody wrote down. A good reefer dispatcher's checklist covers six things before a load reaches the driver.

1. The setpoint. One number, in writing, matching what the shipper will put on the bill of lading. "Keep cold" isn't a setpoint. Neither is a range, unless the shipper means it.
2. The unit mode. Continuous or start-stop. Continuous run mode for fresh produce, chilled meat and other temperature-sensitive cargo; start-stop mode should not be used for fresh produce.
3. The pulp range. The pulp temperature you can accept at pickup. A reefer is built to hold product at temperature, not to pull hot product down.
4. The appointments. Firm times or windows, checked against your hours of service with room for a slow shed.
5. Detention and lumper terms. Free time, hourly rate and proof required, plus who pays the unloading fee and how.
6. Washout and trailer requirements. Some shippers need a washout certificate, a specific trailer length or a food-grade inspection before loading.

None of these is unusual. What separates a careful desk from a careless one is asking every time, on every load, even when the broker is in a hurry. The questions take a few minutes. A rejected load takes weeks to settle.

Source: UF/IFAS HS1328, Protecting Perishable Foods During Transport by Truck or Rail (Brecht et al.), revision of USDA Agriculture Handbook 669, October 2026

Rate con checker: walk an example load

Below is an example rate confirmation for a produce load. Tap each reefer line to see what to check on it, then mark it checked. It's the same review we do before a load reaches you, and the same one you should do before you sign.

Two lines carry the most risk. The temperature line, because a rate con that says 34°F and a bill of lading that says 32°F leave you guessing, and the receiver will pick whichever number suits them. And the pulp range, because it decides whether you should load at all.

If any line is missing, the fix happens before your yes, not after. A broker who won't put detention or lumper terms in writing is telling you how the conversation will go when you ask to be paid.

Good line or warning sign: a quick reference

Use this table when a reefer rate con lands in your inbox. The left column is what a clean line looks like. The right column is what should make you stop and ask before signing.

A warning sign isn't automatically a no. Plenty of good loads arrive with a blank line that a quick call to the broker fixes. The point is to fix it before your signature is on the page.

What the driver still owns

A dispatcher checks paper. The driver runs the reefer unit and handles the product, and the carrier owns the cargo claim. That split matters, because the records that protect you are made at the dock, not at the desk.

Precool the trailer

Perishables should already be at or very near their carrying temperature when loaded; the trailer should be precooled. Precool to the setpoint before you back in, so warm trailer air doesn't hit cold product. Note the time and temperature.

Take pulp temperatures at pickup

Probe a few cases from different parts of the load, front and back, top and bottom pallets. Write the readings on the bill of lading. If product is outside the range on the rate con, call before you load. Refusing warm product at the dock is far easier than proving later that it came to you warm.

Check the BOL before you sign it

Setpoint, mode and pulp readings should all be on it. If the shipper loaded the trailer and you couldn't watch, write "shipper load and count". Photos of the load and the seal number help.

Keep the download

The reefer unit records what it did. Download it after delivery, or whenever a receiver questions the load. Under FDA's Sanitary Transportation rule, carriers must pre-cool refrigerated compartments when the shipper specifies it, and must be able to show the operating temperature was kept during transport when the shipper or receiver asks.

Source: FDA, FSMA Final Rule on Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart O), October 2026

At delivery

Before the doors open, note the unit's display reading and take a photo of it. If the receiver probes the product, ask for the readings and write them on the delivery receipt. If they refuse part of the load, get the reason in writing, take photos of the refused product and call us before you leave the dock. A rejection settled with records takes days. One settled with memories takes months, and usually ends with the carrier paying for it.

If something does go wrong in transit, our temperature excursion checklist covers what to record and who to call. For commodity temperatures, see the reefer temperature guide. Always treat the setpoint on the bill of lading as the one that counts.

Red flags that make us pass on a reefer load

Some loads aren't worth fixing. We pass on them before they reach you, or tell you plainly why we'd say no:

• A shipper that won't write the setpoint on the bill of lading.
• Product that's regularly loaded outside the pulp range, from sheds with a history of claims.
• A delivery time that only works if you skip a break or run past your hours.
• A rate that doesn't cover the fuel to run the unit through a long wait at the shed.
• A broker who can't say who pays the lumper until you're at the dock.

How seasons change the plan

Reefer freight moves with the harvest. Where produce ships from changes through the year, and rates out of a region climb when it peaks. Yuma, Arizona produces over 90% of the winter leafy greens and vegetables consumed in the US, with peak production November through March. In the warmer months, a lot of leafy green volume moves back to the Salinas area in California.

Source: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, az1615 (reviewed March 2020), October 2026

For dispatch, that means the plan for a reefer in January looks nothing like the plan in July. We watch where the volume is heading and plan loops that put you near it as it peaks, with a strong load out instead of a long empty run in. USDA's weekly truck rate report shows per-load rates out of the main shipping areas, and it's one of the sources we check.

Source: USDA AMS Market News, SC National Truck Rate Report (FVWTRK), October 2026

Produce isn't the only reefer freight. Meat, dairy, frozen food and some pharmaceuticals ship all year, and those steadier loads fill the gaps between seasons. A balanced reefer week often mixes both.

The same checks on a 26 ft reefer box

Reefer box trucks run the same checks on smaller loads: setpoint, mode, pulp range and appointments still apply. The difference is volume. A 26 ft reefer box often runs multi-stop food service and grocery routes, so lumper terms, liftgate deliveries and the time the doors stay open at each stop matter more. Every opening lets cold air out, and the unit has to recover before the next stop.

How our desk works reefer loads

We dispatch reefers the same way we dispatch every truck on our desk, with the reefer checks built in. Here's what happens on a load:

1. We search and negotiate around your lanes, your home time and your floor rate.
2. We confirm the reefer details with the broker: setpoint, mode, pulp range, appointments, detention, lumper and washout.
3. The full load reaches you with every detail: lane, rate, miles, weight, commodity, times and extras. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
4. On a yes, the broker emails the rate confirmation directly to you. You check it against the offer and sign it.
5. We handle check calls and broker updates while you run, and line up the next load before you deliver.

You can say no to any load, for any reason, and it costs nothing. The fee is 5% of gross for one truck with authority older than 6 months, charged only on loads you haul. See the full picture on reefer dispatch.