Refrigeration Consolidation Program
If you're a small-to-mid-sized food or beverage shipper, you already know the math doesn't always work in your favor. You don't always have enough volume to fill a truck, but you still need your product delivered refrigerated, on time, and intact. That typically means paying expensive, less-than-truckload (LTL), rates and absorbing the costs of extra handling, slower transit, and the ever-present risk of a temperature excursion somewhere along the way.
That's exactly the problem PL Cold's Refrigeration Consolidation Program was built to solve.
How It Works
PL Cold has partnered with Echo Global Logistics, a Fortune 1000 freight brokerage that operates the EchoChill refrigerated consolidation program, to combine shipments from multiple suppliers bound for the same end destinations onto a single temperature-controlled trailer.
Instead of routing your smaller refrigerated load through a traditional LTL network where it gets transferred, co-mingled with other freight, and subjected to variable handling, your product rides on the same trailer from origin to delivery. No terminals. No extra stops. No unnecessary touchpoints. EchoChill maintains chilled products within a 33–39°F temperature range throughout transit, and PL Cold's facility operates at 34°F, so your product is in a controlled environment from the moment it arrives at our dock to the moment it's delivered.
Two Ways To Participate
- Store your inventory at PL Cold. We'll receive it into our 300,000-square-foot cold facility in Greenfield, Indiana, pick and label your orders, and load them directly onto the consolidated trailer heading to your customers.
- Have us pick it up at your location. Your freight gets picked up and consolidated with other cross-dock freight heading in the same direction.
Either way, your orders go out on time and in full, at rates well below what conventional LTL would cost you.
Why This Matters for Your Business
The savings here aren't theoretical. When multiple suppliers delivering to the same retail distribution centers share a trailer, everyone benefits from the better linehaul rates that come with a full load. You're not absorbing the full cost of a lane just because your shipment doesn't fill a truck.
Beyond cost, consolidation reduces the number of trucks arriving at retail DCs, which means fewer appointment conflicts, faster unloading, and a smoother relationship with the retailers and distributors you're trying to impress. That matters when you're working to protect your OTIF score and avoid compliance chargebacks.
And because your freight stays on the same trailer throughout transit, the risk of damage and temperature drift drops significantly compared to traditional refrigerated LTL, where shipments are routinely cross-docked and rehandled at terminals.
Stop Overpaying on Refrigerated Freight
If you're tired of paying full LTL rates for refrigerated shipments that don't fill a truck, PL Cold's Refrigeration Consolidation Program is worth a conversation. Contact Ed Rodgers, VP of Business Development: (404) 668-2405 or request a quote online, and our PL Cold team will be in touch.
