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Warm Pulp Temps and Responsibility

Warm product at destination
Dock to Dock

The Problem: Warm product at destination.

The Key Point: Reefer units are not designed to reduce (or even maintain) pulp temperatures.

The Solution: Recognize that carriers are ultimately responsible for air temperatures, not pulp temperatures.

QUESTION:
We are a truck broker based on the East Coast. Over the past month, we have experienced several complaints from the same shipper about warm pulp temperatures at destination. In each case, the readings from the portable recorder and reefer download look good, and yet the shipper still feels this is a carrier problem. I’m convinced the precooling of these products (mixed vegetables in a sealed film package) has been inconsistent. Do you feel we have the right to deny these claims?

ANSWER:
Relying on pulp temperatures to assess the carrier’s performance is problematic. Section (6.4) of our Transportation Guidelines provides—

High pulp temperatures at destination do not necessarily indicate a breach of contract by the carrier because high pulp temperatures at destination could result from a shipper’s failure to properly precool produce prior to loading. Pulp temperatures at destination, however, may be some evidence of temperatures within the trailer during the haul, particularly when the pulp temperatures at loading are well-documented and verified by the driver. If pulp temperatures reported on the bill of lading cannot be verified by the driver, the phrase “shipper’s temperature declaration,” or words to this effect, should be noted on the bill of lading. Failure to make this notation, however, should not prejudice a carrier when in fact the driver had no opportunity to verify the stated pulp temperature, such as when the driver is not allowed on the dock at shipping point.

Although it is sometimes said that carriers are responsible for maintaining pulp temperatures, it must be remembered that particularly when commodities with high rates of respiration (e.g., iceless broccoli florets) are loaded warm at shipping point, pulp temperatures may rise despite the carrier’s maintenance of proper air temperatures in transit.

Reefer units are not designed to reduce produce pulp temperatures—that’s the shipper’s responsibility using precooling techniques such as forced air cooling. The limitations of reefer units are particularly evident when product is wrapped in plastic, which simultaneously traps heat and shields the product from the cool air within the trailer.

Consequently, when assessing a carrier’s performance, the pivotal question we try to answer is whether it appears the carrier adequately controlled the temperature of the air surrounding the product.

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