AmeriCold Tops in Warehouse Capacity,
Or Is It Eimskip? Numbers Tell Two Tales

Two conglomerates, one counted whole, one by parts, in annual IARW survey.

Who is is number one when it comes to public cold storage companies?It depends on how you count them, according to the latest ranking by the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW).

The listing puts AmeriCold Logistics on top, with 11,779,477 cubic meters in the United States and Canada. But the number two and three operators, Versacold (7,616,728 cubic meters) and Atlas Cold Storage (5,928,065) are both owned by Reykjavik, Iceland-headquartered Eimskip, which thus has an overall total of 13,544,793.

Fourth and fifth among the Top 20 as listed by the IARW are the Swire Group, with 5,889,634 cubic meters; and Nichirei Logistics Group, with 4,437,923.

Combined space of IARW’s total membership, including the Top 20 members, saw an 18% increase over October of 2006, operating more than three billion cubic feet (over 87 million cubic meters).

The International Top 20 operate more than two billion cubic feet (more than 58 million cubic meters) and the North American Top 20 more than 1.7 billion cubic feet (more than 49 million cubic meters).
IARW’s 318 member companies operate a total of 995 public refrigerated warehouses (PRWs) in 63 different countries, including 676 in North America and an additional 319 PRWs in other nations around the world.

The totals are significantly higher than those in 2006 due to significant growth and expansion within IARW member companies. In addition, AmeriCold Logistics, the largest provider of temperature-controlled food distribution services in the United States, has rejoined the association. Included in AmeriCold’s IARW membership are 82 facilities and 416 million cubic feet (11,779,808 cubic meters) of refrigerated warehouse space.

“The new Top 20 Lists show how IARW represents the expanse of the PRW industry,” said Bill Hudson, president of the Alexandria, Virginia, USA-headquartered trade association. “Companies looking to use public refrigerated warehouse space now have more options than ever in all corners of the globe, and they can be confident that IARW member PRWs have access to the latest technology and information to store products safely and to ensure high quality.”

IARW members represent the vast majority of PRW space in North America and a growing percentage of refrigerated space worldwide. Many companies display the IARW and/or WFLO logos on their materials to demonstrate support for the standards and best practices that members of these organizations represent.

IARW has made it easy for frozen food manufacturers to find public refrigerated warehouses, transportation providers, and cold storage construction companies by publishing the Global Cold Chain Directory, available at no cost to food companies and PRW customers. The trade association partnered with the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), International Refrigerated Transportation Association, and the International Association for Cold Storage Construction, collectively known as the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), to produce the publication.

Corey Rosenbusch Named Vice President

Meanwhile, Corey Rosenbusch was recently promoted to the position of vice president of the GCCA. Formerly employed as its senior director of policy and programs for two years, the new position effectively makes him vice president of the IARW, WFLO, IRTA and IACSS.

“The continuing growth of IARW, WFLO and other Alliance partners dictates that we need a strong number two person at Cold Chain headquarters to manage our day-to-day operations and play a key role in policy development and implementation,” said Bill Hudson, who is also president and ceo of the GCCA.

Before joining the Alliance, Rosenbusch served as project director of a cold chain development program in Indonesia under a USDA grant. He also worked as an international development consultant in Indonesia, the Ukraine, Afghanistan and El Salvador.