The United States is home to a vast manufacturing sector, not to mention a huge sector for farms, dairies, and the like. But all of these manufactured goods and foodstuffs have to be transported somehow, and this is where the transport industry comes in. For exports around the globe, huge naval ships can carry many tons of cargo inside steel shipping containers, and fast deliveries can be done with jets (such as overnight deliveries). Trains can also carry a lot of goods at once. Meanwhile, in the middle of all this, truck carrier companies also get a lot of work, and they are much cheaper to hire than a jet company or a train company. These trucks can carry goods of all kind across the nation’s roads, and some trucks have specialized trailers for certain types of cargo inside. Among other things, this includes wholesale reefer units. Just what is a reefer trailer, anyway, and how can a truck carrier company owner find used trailer refrigeration units for sale in their area? These purchases can really pay off, if they are made smartly.
All About Carrier Reefers
Put simply, a reefer trailer is a refrigerated truck trailer that has insulation in its walls, and one or more air conditioner units that will maintain a low temperature inside. This is often done to transport cold items such as dairy, meat, and frozen foods for grocery stores, among others. Such reefer trailers can range from 28 to 53 feet long, and the largest of them may be up to 13.5 feet tall and weigh as much as 44,000 pounds. Inside, these reefer trailers can sustain a temperature anywhere from -20 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the needs of the current cargo inside.
The market for these reefer units is huge, and still growing. Today, over 500,000 reefer trailer trucks are in operation across the United States, and some 40,000 of them were ordered in January 2018 alone (according to FTR Transportation Intelligence data). The global market for these trailers is around $5 billion right now, and estimates say that it will grow from 2016 to 2022 to reach $7.65 billion in value. In that time span, according to experts, this industry will grow at a CAGR of 4.8%. Clearly, a truck carrier owner who looks for used trailer refrigeration units for sale may see this sort of purchase pay off well, seeing how popular the industry is. Still, a large piece of hardware, such as used reefer trailers and new units alike, must be purchased smartly. How can this be done?
Finding New and Used Trailer Refrigeration Units for Sale
A truck carrier company owner may decide that their company needs some reefer units, so it can expand the list of potential clients to include grocery stores who need cold foods delivered. So, the owner can look up “used trailer refrigeration units for sale” or “new reefers wholesale” and find some units in their area, and visit them to look them over. This is especially important for used units, which may have some maintenance issues. The buyer should check a used trailer’s axles, brakes, and wheels, not to mention take its cooling units for a test run to ensure that the trailer can generate and maintain the desired temperature. A new unit will be more expensive, but it won’t have any maintenance issues, and it will come with factory warrants, too.
As for financing, truck companies rarely get approved for loans from big banks, which see this business as too risky. Instead, to purchase used trailer refrigeration units for sale, a buyer can turn to specialized truck lenders, who will approve many clients for loans since they understand the risks of the business. Such a lender will look over the borrower’s personal and business credit score, and a good score may mean financing as much as 100% of the trailer’s value in a loan, and at a low interest rate. Lenders with low scores can still get loans, though with less favorable terms. And either way, the trailer itself will act as collateral, making this a secured loan and thus more attractive to the lender. This can be done for new and used trailer refrigeration units alike.