Reefer drayage that doesn't break the cold chain.
Reefer containers don't tolerate sloppy drayage. A wrong set point, a missed pre-trip, or a genset that runs out of fuel mid-haul, and you've got a temperature claim. Cate Freight runs reefer drays with verified set points, pre-trip inspection, and genset chassis sized for the lane.
How we handle a Charleston reefer drayage
- Set point verified at terminal. Driver checks the unit display matches the set point on the booking before the chassis leaves the terminal. Documented.
- Genset checked. Fuel level, run hours, alarm history. If anything looks off we route to a different genset rather than risk a fail in transit.
- Pre-trip inspection. Reefer set, supply temperature, and return air noted. Photo record on file.
- In transit. Genset monitored at any required fuel stops. Set point not changed without written customer instruction.
- Delivery. Set point and supply temperature confirmed again at the consignee. Noted on the POD.
Specialty reefer scenarios we handle
- Plug-to-plug moves where shore power must be maintained on both sides
- Frozen-to-fresh transitions with controlled set-point ramp
- USDA-monitored cold chain documentation
- Pharma reefer with strict tolerance bands
- Reefer transload with same-day cold-side cross-dock
Reefer drayage across the Charleston terminals and corridors
Refrigerated imports come into the Port of Charleston through the South Carolina Ports container terminals — Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant, the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, and the North Charleston Terminal. Loaded reefers plug into the terminal reefer racks while they wait on release, so the box stays under power and on its set point until we hook the chassis. Our job is to keep that chain unbroken from the moment the unit leaves the gate to the moment it plugs in at your dock.
Charleston moves a steady volume of temperature-controlled freight — produce, seafood, dairy and food ingredients, and pharma — and a share of it is cold-treatment cargo that has to hold a tight band on the water and on the road. That is exactly the kind of Charleston drayage where a verified set point and a documented pre-trip pay for themselves the first time a consignee disputes a temperature.
Most reefer deliveries run to cold storage and distribution centers across the tri-county — Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties — with the usual stops in North Charleston, Hanahan, Goose Creek, Ladson, and Summerville. For longer cold-chain lanes we run the I-26 corridor toward Columbia and the Upstate, or I-95 north and south, and we plan the genset fuel stop before the truck rolls instead of guessing at it mid-haul.
Common questions