Major container carriers such as Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co., United Arab Shipping Co., Hamburg Sud and Hapag-Lloyd are among those making significant investments in their reefer business to help offset slower growth in other business areas.
Industrywide, reefer capacity on container ships is expected to increase 22 percent during the next five years, according to London-based consulting firm and analyst Drewry. Furthermore, it estimates reefer container volumes will increase by 20.5 million tons over this period, and reefer box capacity will grow to 1.9 million slots by 2018.