I n an episode of the TV series “Mad Men,” a chronicle of the 1960s New York adver- tising world through the eyes of a fictitious
agency, the daughter of one of the partners
pleads with him to invest in a wondrous idea
called “refrigerated transportation.” Imagine
a world, she tells him in early 1968, where
fresh and frozen foods can be transported
door to door by trucks over thousands of
miles without spoiling.
If ever in this business there were a case of
art imitating life, this is it. With the advent
of superior refrigeration systems and more
powerful and efficient diesel engines, long-
haul refrigerated, or reefer, trucking took off
in the early 1970s. It created new choices for
consumers, new markets for shippers, and a
new industry—and virtual monopoly—for
carriers. It has been that way for nearly a half
century.
But the last few years have shown that
railroads are more than willing to jump into
the truckers’ traditional sandbox. The rails,
knowing truck shippers are concerned about
volatile fuel costs, increased regulatory pressure, and capacity availability, among other
Will a rail-truck hybrid model challenge truckers’ dominance?
BY MARK B. SOLOMON
A new pairing for
refrigerated transport
