In March of this year, the Government Work Report of the State Council highlighted the need to reduce costs in areas such as logistics and to step up investment in logistics and other infrastructure. As a vital component of logistics infrastructure, cold-chain logistics warehousing is increasingly attracting attention from various sectors. To seize market opportunities, in recent years, Taicang CIMC Refrigerated Logistics Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as "Taicang Cold Box"), a subsidiary of CIMC Group, has successfully developed China's first large-scale mobile cold storage container specifically designed for building cold-chain logistics warehouses—thanks to intensive research and development efforts.

“Customers can freely combine the individual modular units like building blocks—tailoring them to their specific functional needs—to create cold storage facilities ranging from dozens to thousands of cubic meters. Not only is this approach cost-effective and environmentally friendly, but it also delivers superior refrigeration performance compared to traditional brick-and-mortar cold storage warehouses.” Every time the Taicang Cold Box manager introduces this innovative solution to clients who come to the company for consultation, they do so with unwavering confidence.

It is reported that since Taicang Cold Box launched this product onto the market in 2016, the company has, over the past two-plus years, leveraged its advanced technology and agile mechanisms that swiftly cater to customer needs. Riding the rapid growth of the cold-chain logistics sector, the brand has achieved a commanding lead in market share, quickly becoming the "new favorite" in the cold-chain logistics industry.

Major giants are actively expanding into the cold-chain logistics sector.

In recent years, with the growing popularity of online shopping and the rise of new retail models, both people's lifestyles and consumption patterns have undergone significant changes. Online grocery shopping via e-commerce platforms and home delivery services for fresh produce and fruits have become increasingly popular consumer trends today. According to data from relevant institutions, China's fresh-food e-commerce market reached a transaction volume of approximately 139.13 billion yuan in 2017, surpassing 100 billion yuan for the first time—a year-on-year increase of 59.7%. In the first half of 2018, the transaction volume for fresh-food e-commerce stood at 105.16 billion yuan.

"Benefiting from the growth in this type of consumption, coupled with the government's policies aimed at vigorously promoting cold-chain logistics, China's domestic cold-chain logistics market has experienced rapid development in recent years. It is precisely because of the booming opportunities created by the thriving cold-chain logistics sector that well-known enterprises across various industries—such as Sinotrans, SF Express, Suning, JD.com, Meituan, and Ele.me—have steadily entered this space, particularly focusing on segments like fresh fruits and vegetables, where cold-chain applications are most concentrated." The head of Taicang Cold-Box Marketing Services stated, "This is because consumers have extremely high expectations for the quality of fresh produce, and cold-chain logistics perfectly meets the critical needs of preserving freshness and ensuring efficient transportation."

Currently, most fresh-food e-commerce platforms still rely on a "two-stage" semi-cold-chain logistics model for delivery—leveraging inter-city cold-chain transportation as the backbone, using urban cold storage facilities as key nodes, and supplementing with refrigerated vehicles and other temperature-controlled equipment to ensure doorstep delivery. However, delivering directly to households via specialized refrigerated trucks proves cost-prohibitive when handling small, scattered orders from widely dispersed residential buildings. Amidst the wave of New Retail, many fresh-food companies are now experimenting with innovative approaches: setting up pre-positioned warehouses and expanding their physical store networks to create a "point-to-area" distribution strategy. This allows them to establish a 3-kilometer delivery radius system, where final-mile deliveries can utilize ice packs to maintain products at low temperatures—significantly reducing ongoing refrigeration costs compared to traditional cold-chain methods.

"Among these, urban cold storage facilities serving as city logistics hubs for cold-chain transit and warehousing are seeing their demand grow steadily year by year. However, traditional brick-and-mortar-style cold storage facilities not only tend to be located farther from city centers but also require substantial land areas, involve significant capital investments, and take a long time to construct. Moreover, they face numerous challenges in terms of environmental protection and safety, making their development increasingly difficult." The official noted. "In response to these obstacles, major fresh-food e-commerce platforms have begun exploring the next step in urban cold-storage development: setting up pre-positioned cold storage facilities closer to city centers, aiming to enable short-distance, efficient delivery networks."

Addressing the pain points of traditional cold storage, CIMC Mobile Cold Storage Containers Have Become Highly Sought-After "Hot Commodity"

"Against this backdrop, starting from 2015, Taicang Cold Boxes has concentrated its R&D efforts to develop the nation's first mobile cold storage unit—designed specifically for large-scale use in cold-chain logistics warehousing—and launched it onto the market in 2016. Whether deployed as urban cold storage facilities or as front-end cold storage solutions, this product boasts unique advantages. As a result, it has been warmly embraced by customers such as Meituan and Ele.me right from its introduction," said the official.

According to technical experts from Taicang Cold Box, this mobile cold storage unit is designed and manufactured in accordance with standard refrigerated container specifications. It’s a compact, easy-to-assemble cold storage system that can be easily disassembled and combined into multiple units. Specifically, it can be mass-produced in factories and efficiently transported via standard modes of transportation—such as road or rail—to the installation site. Once on-site, the unit can be customized to meet specific customer needs by assembling and configuring different functional and modular components, enabling capabilities like quick-freezing, rapid pre-cooling, cooling, and refrigeration. During operation, customers can flexibly adjust the system at any time by adding, removing, or reconfiguring the types and quantities of modular units, allowing for seamless adaptation of the cold box’s functionality and scale to evolving requirements. Moreover, when relocating the cold storage facility, dismantling the unit is remarkably convenient and swift, making it simple to transport the modules to a new location for immediate reuse—without compromising performance or quality.

"Currently, a mobile cold storage container typically measures 40-foot standard container size, with an internal volume exceeding 60 cubic meters. However, these containers can be easily combined and integrated into larger units—without the need to equip every single unit with its own refrigeration system. As a result, the total storage capacity of the combined units can range from 60 to several thousand cubic meters, tailored precisely to meet customer requirements. Overall, compared to traditional brick-and-mortar cold storage facilities, CIMC’s mobile cold storage containers offer distinct advantages, including lower overall costs, shorter project implementation timelines, greater flexibility and convenience in use, as well as the ability to be disassembled, relocated, and even recycled for reuse." The technician noted, "These key benefits effectively address the shortcomings of conventional built-to-order cold storage solutions, providing a viable answer to the critical cold-chain warehousing challenges faced by major fresh-food e-commerce platforms."

The technician also stated that the steel plates, insulation materials, and other components used in CIMC's mobile cold storage containers are all environmentally friendly and green materials vigorously promoted by the national government, eliminating any environmental protection or environmental impact assessment concerns. This is also one of the key reasons why these containers are highly favored by major fresh-food e-commerce platforms.

"Thanks to their distinct comprehensive advantages, CIMC’s mobile cold storage containers have been on the market for about two years since their launch in 2016. During this time, they’ve already reached users in more than 30 major cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Fuzhou, and Dalian—and even made their way into markets as far away as Europe and Southeast Asia. Market research shows that our domestic market share exceeds 95%," said the head of the Taicang Cold Container Marketing Service Department.

Policy-driven initiatives will open up significant opportunities in areas such as railway cold-chain logistics.

Relevant institutions' research indicates that China's fresh e-commerce market is expected to reach 350 billion yuan by 2019. Moreover, fresh e-commerce relies heavily on cold-chain logistics; driven by this trend, China's cold-chain logistics market is projected to grow to 470 billion yuan over the next three to five years, with an annual compound growth rate exceeding 20%.

To address the growing demand for rapid cold-chain logistics and the current gap between this demand and the relatively underdeveloped cold-chain infrastructure, the country has steadily introduced relevant policies to vigorously promote innovation and application of cold-chain logistics technologies and equipment.

In April 2017, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Cold-Chain Logistics to Ensure Food Safety and Promote Consumption Upgrading" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), which clearly stated the need to speed up the phasing out of non-standard, high-energy-consumption cold storage facilities, while encouraging the construction of circulation-oriented cold storage facilities that better meet market demands. The document also promoted the widespread use of convenient and standardized cold-chain transport units, such as refrigerated containers. Furthermore, enterprises were encouraged to adopt safe, environmentally friendly, and energy-efficient refrigerants and cooling technologies, develop new types of phase-change materials for cold storage, and integrate cutting-edge energy-saving and energy-storage equipment into their operations.

“The product fully meets the expectations of national policies, whether in terms of standard specifications or the materials used for manufacturing the cabinet body,” said the head of Taicang Cold Box. “This is also why, in just over two years, this mobile cold storage box has managed to achieve a leading market share.”

According to the official, CIMC's mobile cold storage containers have far more application potentials beyond just upgrading and building new urban cold storage facilities—they also hold significant promise for rural markets and the railway cold-chain sector. On one hand, the country is actively encouraging agricultural producers and certain on-site farmers' markets to adopt advanced cold-chain equipment, helping to rapidly address the critical "first-mile" gap in cold-chain infrastructure at the source of agricultural products. On the other hand, China Railway Corporation is vigorously expanding its railway-based cold-chain logistics network, creating substantial demand for increased railway cold-chain capacity, larger cold-storage facilities, and refrigerated railcars (containers), among other things. "And since CIMC's mobile cold storage containers are manufactured according to standard container specifications, they could naturally serve as ideal railway cold-chain units in the future."

"The market demand is robust, and coupled with the guidance of various national policies, we believe that Taicang Cold Box's mobile cold storage units will soon unlock even broader market opportunities," said the head of Taicang Cold Box.

Business contact:0086-512 33027708

Phone:0086-512 33027777

Email:xingbiao.shi@cimc.com

xingcheng.qiu@cimc.com

Address: No. 99 Binjiang Avenue, Taicang Port Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jiangsu Province