Refrigerated Freight Brokerage Built for Cold-Chain Shippers

Temperature-controlled trucking for produce, frozen, dairy, pharma, and beverage shippers — with the data to prove every load held temp.

30-min quote · 24/7 dispatch · Call (516) 252-3395

When your freight has to stay cold, “we’ll figure it out” isn’t a freight strategy. BlackBridge Logistics moves refrigerated truckloads across the U.S. with food-grade carriers, TempID-monitored trailers, and the temperature-data records your QA team will actually ask for.

We run produce out of the PNW, frozen out of the Midwest, dairy down the East Coast, and pharma anywhere it needs to go — all with a dedicated reefer dispatcher who knows the difference between fresh and frozen, and what 34°F vs -10°F means for your loading window.

Late pickup? Multi-stop? Recovery on a rejected load? We’ve handled all of it. Call (516) 252-3395 or request a quote and we’ll have a number back to you in 30 minutes.

Reefer vs Dry Van: When You Need Refrigerated Freight

A dry van is an unrefrigerated 53’ box — fine for non-perishable, temperature-stable freight. A reefer is the same trailer with a refrigeration unit (Thermo King or Carrier Transicold) that holds a set temperature from -20°F to +70°F. The rule of thumb: if a temperature deviation would damage, spoil, or get your load rejected at the receiver, you need a reefer — not a dry van with a blanket over it.

	Dry Van	Reefer
Temperature control	None	-20°F to +70°F, setpoint-held
Typical freight	Packaged goods, paper, non-perishables	Produce, dairy, frozen, pharma, beverages
Cost vs dry van	Baseline	+15–20% per mile (fuel at setpoint, smaller carrier pool)
Temp data records	N/A	TempID/Geotab telemetry on request

Still unsure which you need? Call (516) 252-3395 — we’ll tell you straight, even if the answer is “you can save money with a dry van.”

Refrigerated Freight We Arrange

• Produce — apples, berries, leafy greens, citrus, stone fruit, root vegetables, salad mixes
• Dairy — fluid milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream
• Frozen foods — proteins, prepared meals, bakery, seafood, ice cream, frozen produce
• Pharma & life sciences — temperature-validated shipments, GDP-aware lanes, +2/+8°C and -20°C ranges (carrier-vetted, see FAQ)
• Floral — fresh-cut flowers, holiday peaks (Valentine’s, Mother’s Day pre-builds available)
• Beverages — beer, wine, kombucha, RTD coffee, juice
• Confectionery & chocolate — heat-sensitive, summer-protected loads
• Specialty / cold-chain industrial — adhesives, biologics, temperature-sensitive raw materials

Equipment & Capability

Reefer equipment available through our carrier network

• 53’ multi-temp (single-zone, multi-zone bulkhead, partition-ready)
• 53’ single-temp deep-frozen (-20°F capable)
• 48’ produce reefers (PNW + CA growers)
• Food-grade washout-certified equipment
• Carrier Transicold and Thermo King units (no off-brand, no questions)

Monitoring

• TempID / Geotab temp telemetry on the loads that need it
• Driver-validated temp checks at pickup, in-transit, and delivery
• Two-way temperature data records on request — useful when your QA team or a customer audit comes knocking
• Setpoint verification at pickup (we check it, we don’t just trust the BOL)

Configurations

• Single-stop FTL
• Multi-stop reefer (up to 5 stops, accessorial-priced — see pricing block)
• Dedicated reefer trailers for repeat lanes / committed volume
• Spot reefer for one-off and seasonal peaks
• Drop-trailer programs for high-volume facilities

Compliance

• Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) — Sanitary Transportation rule compliance baked into our carrier vetting
• Food-grade washout proof on file before load tender
• Driver pre-cool verification (trailer pulled to setpoint before live load)

Lanes We Run Most

1. PNW → Texas (Yakima/Wenatchee/Pasco apples + cherries → Dallas, Houston, San Antonio reload)
2. Florida → Northeast (Plant City strawberries + Homestead winter produce → NJ, NY, MA)
3. California → Midwest (Salinas + Watsonville → Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati)
4. NJ/PA → Southeast (cold-storage out of NJ port → ATL, Charlotte, Jacksonville)
5. Texas → Northeast (Rio Grande Valley citrus + Mexican-import produce → I-95 corridor)
6. Midwest → West Coast (frozen proteins out of IA/NE/MN → CA, AZ, NV)
7. Northeast → Florida (dairy + frozen → ATL, Orlando, Miami, Tampa)
8. Cross-border Laredo (Mexico-origin reefer drayage + interior US delivery)

Lane not listed? We run reefer in every state. Call us.

Why BlackBridge for Reefer

1. Temperature-data records, by default. Every load that needs telemetry gets it, and the data is yours on request — no upcharge, no “we’ll get back to you on that.”
2. Dedicated reefer dispatcher. Your loads don’t get worked by the dry van team between dry van calls. Reefer is its own desk because reefer is its own discipline.
3. Transparent fuel surcharge. Pass-through, calculated weekly off published indexes (see pricing block). No “freight all-in” mystery numbers, no margin we hide inside FSC.
4. Recovery handling on rejects. Load gets rejected at the receiver because the temp report shows a deviation? We’ve handled the recovery — re-route, salvage, donation channel, claim documentation — without making it your nights-and-weekends problem.
5. Food-grade carrier vetting. We don’t tender reefer to a carrier without the washout history, FSMA acknowledgment, and at minimum 90 days clean CSA basics on Hours-of-Service and Vehicle Maintenance. The carriers we won’t work with are the carriers your insurance underwriter doesn’t want you working with either.

Pricing transparency

Reefer carries a per-mile premium over dry van — fuel-burn at setpoint, smaller carrier pool, that’s why. Fuel surcharge is pass-through, calculated weekly off the DOE national diesel index — formula disclosed on every quote, linehaul and FSC line-itemed. Multi-stop accessorials, detention, lumper, layover — all line-itemed up front.

For a real number on your lane, call (516) 252-3395 or use the form. 30-minute turnaround in business hours.

The 3-Step Reefer Quote

1. Tell us the load. Origin, destination, equipment, setpoint, pickup window, commodity. Phone or form, your pick.
2. Quote in 30 minutes. Our reefer dispatcher prices the lane and emails (or calls) you back. Linehaul + FSC + accessorials, line-itemed.
3. First load runs. We tender to a vetted reefer carrier, monitor pickup-through-delivery, and send you the temp data + POD when it delivers.

No 14-step onboarding. No portal you have to learn. Phone call, quote, load.

Reefer FAQ

What’s the difference between reefer and dry van pricing?

Reefer runs a per-mile premium over dry van — sometimes 15-20%, sometimes more, depending on lane, season, and equipment. The premium covers the trailer cost, fuel burn at setpoint, and the smaller carrier pool. Anyone quoting you reefer at dry van numbers is going to fail to cover the load — and that’s the worst possible outcome on temperature-sensitive freight.

Do you handle frozen vs fresh-only?

Both. Fresh produce typically runs at 34-38°F, frozen runs at 0°F or below, deep-frozen at -10°F to -20°F. We arrange all of it and require the selected motor carrier to pre-cool the trailer to your setpoint before the live load. Specify your setpoint at pickup and we’ll validate it on arrival.

How do you handle temperature data and audits?

Loads that need telemetry get TempID or Geotab monitoring with continuous data capture. The dataset is available to you on request — typically within 24 hours of delivery. If your QA team or a customer audit needs the temp record, we hand it over without drama. Some customers have a standing temp-data delivery built into their lane setup.

What’s your reefer truck count or carrier network?

We’re a brokerage, not an asset carrier — that’s a feature, not a bug. We work a vetted network of food-grade reefer carriers across the U.S., which means we’re not stuck with a fixed fleet that can’t flex with your seasonality. For high-volume committed lanes, we can dedicate trailers and drivers; for spot, we tender to the best-priced vetted carrier on the lane that day.

Can you do multi-stop reefer?

Yes — up to five stops as standard, more on case-by-case. Multi-stop reefer is harder than multi-stop dry because each door opening costs setpoint time, so we plan stops to minimize temp deviation and we accessorial-price each additional stop transparently.

What about pharma / cold-chain compliance (GDP)?

We arrange pharma loads on validated, GDP-aware lanes with carriers vetted specifically for life-sciences freight. For full GDP-validated cold-chain (especially +2/+8°C lanes with continuous validation and regulatory audit trail), we’ll scope the requirement against our carrier base and tell you on the front end whether we’re the right fit. We don’t bluff our way into pharma loads we shouldn’t be running.

How does fuel surcharge work on reefer?

We use a pass-through FSC calculated weekly off the DOE national average diesel index. The formula is disclosed on every quote — you see linehaul and FSC line-itemed separately on the rate confirmation. No mystery ‘all-in’ numbers.

Can we start with a single load or do you need contract volume?

Single load is fine. Most of our best customers started with one load to test us. We’d rather earn your second load by performing on the first than lock you into committed volume up front. Contract / dedicated lanes are an option once we’ve run together for a few weeks.

Related

• Reefer Trucking Guide (deep dive)
• Temperature-Controlled Shipping
• Expedited Freight
• Container Drayage
• Bonded Warehouse Drayage