Reefer containers still in demand

Despite the economic downturn, refrigerated containers (reefers) both 20-foot and 40-ft are still in demand, according to Darren Singh, operations director of SA container conversion and supply major, Container World. Marine reefer containers have built a solid landside market, proving a most cost-effective solution for cold storage requirements in the agricultural, fishing and frozen product distribution industries, he added. The demand, Johannesburg-based executive director Barron Charsley told FTW, is both in the domestic market and in the other overborder countries in southern Africa. “And the market requirements are across-the-board,” he added, “with options from a choice of chillers, holding and cold rooms, and blast freezers – to combined units. “Also, our custom-built units are specifically developed for harsh operating conditions in Africa, being structurally robust and with minimum maintenance requirements.” But the big frustration of the moment, according to Singh, is that an ever-diminishing supply is just not able to meet the demand. “Retail giants have been stockpiling, and that has helped the leasing market for long-term leasing,” he told FTW. “But, all said and done, there has been – and there still is – a shortage of both sizes of refrigerated containers.” Somewhat easing the strain in the current tight economic conditions is the drop in the ice-making market, with not many enquiries being received. “It is evident,” said Singh, “that capital expenditure is on hold. “Also, the citrus season this year has been hit hard, with very few containers being exported. Therefore, depots have been overloaded with reefer container stock. “There are signs that these market conditions are changing, with a demand for 20-ft containers – which with time will increase,” he said. “I’d say we are managing to maintain our presence in the market place to ensure that we keep our market share.” An example of the demand, according to Charsley, is that the Johannesburg office recently concluded a deal for 24 new 20-ft reefer containers which were sold to the Rwandan military for its peacekeeping effort in Sudan. “And, in order to keep our existing clients happy, we also invested in new 40-ft containers for our local domestic leasing market,” he said. “For customers this means no worries, with the whole expected lifespan of the new containers still to come.”