b'18American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comDemand for DTC perishable delivery continues to explode Call us at(201) 773-0770Direct-to-Consumer logistics is exploding, especially for temperature-controlled-freight. Warehousing By Andrew Meadows, AJOT and Logistics Edison, NJ-based ColdTrack waslargely due to convenience and con- Solutionsfoundedasacontractmanufacturersumer preference. Analysts value the butoverthepastdecadethecom- market at $18.5B in 2025 and forecast250,000 sq. ft. owner-operated panyevolvedintoaturnkeycoldgrowthto$65.6Bby2034(CAGRwarehouse serving the Tri-State chainlogisticsplatformforDirect- 15%).TheGLP-1logisticsmarketArea for 29+ yearsTo-Consumer(DTC)aloneisforecasted brandsthatdeliv- to grow from $7.5BOUR SERVICESerseverythingfromin 2025 to $18.7B by fresh-frozenseafood2030(CAGR20%). to gourmet pet food.Butgoingbackto ColdTracksfulfillmentfood, if you look at networkisnowathe evolution of gro- Warehousing Distribution Fulfillment Cross-dockingcoast-to-coastoper- ceryretail,fifteen Rack/bulk storageImport/exportOrder processingLoading/unloadingationwithfacilitiesyearsago,frozen WMS inventory Dry goods and Pick/pack21 doorsin Stockton and Pat- pizza occupied a fewcontrol specialty foodsLabelingMinimal turnaroundterson,CA,India- freezer doors. Today Temporary and Transportation Restackingnapolis, IN and Newitfillsentireaisles.seasonal surges resourcesJersey. The AmericanThe same expansion JournalofTrans- Luke Vaccaro, ColdTrack ishappeningacross portationrecentlyhadachancetoproteins,seafood,preparedmeals, chat with Luke Vaccaro, ColdTracksdesserts,andfunctionalfoods.As COO. Vaccaro will serve as a featuredthosemanufacturersexpandtheir panelistatManifestVegas2026insales channels into ecommerce, home early February.delivery becomes a strategic neces-AJOT: Tell us about your role atsitywhether they fulfill in-house Manifest Vegas 2026.or through partners like ColdTrack. Vaccaro: This year, were exhibit- Lastly, we are seeing a trend of B2B ing in and are proud sponsors of Man- perishable shipments in the retail and ifests Cold Chain Pavilionthe firstfoodservice space, including direct-time the event has created a dedicatedto-store small-parcel shipments. The platformfortemperature-controlledUSFoodserviceindustryaloneis logistics,reflectinghowcriticaltheworth upward of $380B, so we are coldchainhasbecometomodernexcited to help shift the decades-old commerce.TogetherwithRebeccadistribution model from pallet-level Linz, VP of Supply Chain at Force ofdeliveries to case-level shipments via1Nature, and Josh Lett, SVP of Cus- common carriers.LEARN MORE AT teamlogistics.com 20-10 Maple Avenuetomer Experience at Deposco, Ill beAJOT:WhatdoesperishableFair Lawn, NJ 07410 participating in a panel discussion onDTC look like internationally?Tuesday, February 10th at 10:15 amVaccaro:The U.S. remains the(STABILIZEcontinued fromlauncheswithouttheneedtobuild titledColdChainFulfillmentTech:largestperishableDTCmarket,butpage 16) more warehouses that may be unnec-PrecisionInventory,PerfectOrders,most developed economies now haveefficient supply chains. essary in a few months.and DTC Growth. healthydirect-to-consumervolumes. AJOT:OverthepastdecadeWe already support European brandsS calaBility& F lexiBility inW arehoUSeperishableeCommerceDTChasthat sell directly into the U.S. with- d eSiGne naBleSc omPanieS to Bea Gile (COMPLEXcontinued from exploded. How big can it get?outmaintainingadomesticoperat- Anotherresultofpandemicpage 16)Vaccaro:Mostestimatesplaceing footprint. As global infrastructuresupplychaindisruptionhasbeenenforcement procedures create a fur-thecurrentU.S.temperature-con- improves and consumer behavior con- therecognitionbymanysupplyther tightening of the blue-collar labor trolled logistics market at $7590 bil- tinues to shift toward home delivery,chain managers that dramatic marketmarket.Theimpactoflaborkeeps lion annually, with significant growthwe expect perishable DTC to expandchangescanhappenquickly.Tooccupiers of industrial space limited expected over the next decade. Direct- well beyond North America. build scalable industrial warehouses,in their pursuit of additional space that to-consumer represents a meaningfulAJOT:How has cold chain reli- developers focus on modular design,does not fit within a tight geographic and rapidly expanding portion of thatability become a competitive differen- future-prooftechnologyinfrastruc- window of current operations. market and is currently estimated attiator for brands? ture, maximizing vertical space, andZoningrestrictions,labor,and roughly$15billion.Industryfore- Vaccaro: One of our core respon- implementing adaptable automation,infrastructurewillremainkeydriv-casts suggest that figure could doublesibilities is protecting the reputationsallowingforeasyreconfiguration,ersofwheredecisionmakerselect over the next ten years as consumerofthebrandsweserve.Wereoneexpansion,orcontraction.Designsto expand. Currently the uncertainty adoption continues to rise.of the final touchpoints between theshouldincludeadaptableracking,of tariffs has created a lull in demand AJOT:What other products couldbrand and the consumer. If we were toworkstations, and conveyors that canforlargewarehousespace(200,000 fuel the growth of perishable DTC?make a packing or shipping mistake,shift as needs change.sfandup)ande-commercefacili-Vaccaro:Consumerdemandthe consumer doesnt blame the fulfill- Developers can also add extra stor- ties.Despiteachallengingdomestic willultimatelydrivetheindustrysment providerthe brand takes theagelevels,leveragingverticalspacefreight market, demand remains solid growth.Asweplacegreatervaluehit, and that may be the last interactionfor cost efficiency. Using systems likeforinfilltransportationproperties onconvenienceandtime,demandthat consumer ever has with that com- adjustable pallet racking, push-back, orthatprovidemaintenancecapacity forperishableproductsdeliveredpany. We dont take that responsibil- drive-in racks that can easily be recon- fortrucksaswellasextralandfor directly to the home will continue toity lightly, and thankfully, due to ourfigured allows a company to expand itstrailerstorage.Spaceremainstight rise. That demand attracts more pro- recent $10M+ investment in industrywarehouse capacity easily and quickly.forsmallinfillindustrialproperties ducers,moreinnovation,andmoreexperts(people),process,andtech- Warehouse operators are encour- (under100,000sf)andconstruction specializedbrandsallofwhichnology, our current error rates are lessagedtousesmarttechnology,suchcostsforindustrialremainelevated increasetheneedforreliablecoldthan 1/10th of a percent.Lastly, foodasscalablewarehousemanagementas labor is typically 50% of the cost chaininfrastructure.Werealreadysafety and consumer health is critical.systems (WMS) for real-time controlfor new industrial facilities. We note seeingpharma-to-doorinquiriesWeprovideourbrandpartnerswithandmulti-sitemanagement.Usinganincreaseofsubleasespacebeing increasing.There is a massive grow- precision tracking through our OMSAI(ArtificialIntelligence)andIoTbroughttomarketoverthepast6 ingtrendoftemperature-controlledand WMS software systems, enabling(Internet of Things) for demand fore- months.Subleasespaceistypically shipmentsinthepharmaceuticalLot traceability so, in the event of acastingcanreducebottlenecksandnotincludedincalculatingvacancy industry, specifically DTP or Direct- recall,wecanidentifywhetheranydeterminewhenmorespaceorlessrates. If the pattern of increased sub-to-Patientdistributionforchronicimpacted items have been shipped toisrequired.Bycombiningphysicallease space continues, we have con-therapieslikePeptidesandGLP-1consumers, down to the item level inflexibilitywithsmarttechnology,cernfortheoverallvacancyrateof monthlyinjectables,whicharedis- each individual parcel.warehouses can be adapted to supportdomestic industrial moving forward. placing traditional pharmacy pickup,(EXPLODEcontinued on page 19) growth,seasonality,ornewproduct(COMPLEXcontinued on page 19)'