Airfreight plays an important role in the global flower industry and ensures that delicate blossoms reach their destinations fresh and undamaged. Despite the significant logistical challenges involved in the transport of flowers, there are no dedicated unit loading devices (ULDs) that are explicitly designed for this freight type, as opposed to the specialized temperature -controlled containers used for pharmaceutical products. But why is this the case, and how does the industry ensure the safe and efficient transport of flowers without custom Uld solutions? Pharmaceutical products, especially vaccines and biologics, require strict temperature control and specialized handling.
This necessity has led to the development of advanced cool Ivules equipped with active cooling, humidity control and advanced monitoring systems. In contrast, flowers, although also perishable, generally require at the temperatures rather than precise cooling, which makes the use of high-tech ULDs expensive and impractical for this cargo segment.
Shailendra Kothari, managing director of Jettainer Americas, explains that flowers can be transported in standard ULDs such as PMC and LD3 containers without significant changes. Some delicate flower varieties may benefit from temperature -controlled ULDs, but it is expensive and not widely available, which requires prior arrangements. The cost of these high-tech containers heavier than the benefits of transporting flowers, which chooses airlines and logistics suppliers for optimized handling techniques rather than investing in Specialized IDR’s.
One of the biggest challenges in flower transport is volume efficiency rather than temperature control. Flowers are light, but bulky, which means that optimizing the weight-to-volume ratio is critical to cost-effective air freight. Unlike pharmaceutical products, which are typically compact and high value, flowers take significant space into containers. This is a logistical challenge that specialized ULDs would not necessarily solve to maximize the available space on flights while carefully loading to prevent bruises or crushing.
“Flowers need careful and appropriate charge techniques to ensure they stay undamaged in transport,” says Kothari. “The logistics now also involves timelines, as flowers have a limited shelf life, demanding effective coordination to ensure timely delivery.”
The right Uwn challenge A key issue in flower transport is seasonal demand fluctuations. Peak periods, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and the end of the year, require logistical suppliers to allocate and reposition ULD’s worldwide. This means that any investment in specialized flowers would be underutilized a large part of the year, making it economically unenforceable.
According to Kothari, Jettainer addresses these peaks effectively by ensuring that serviceable Udes are available in the right place at the right time. However, this demand boost means that suppliers must quickly obtain and reposition additional Ivils at short notice, which makes flexibility more important than specialization.
Ulle manufacturers and logistics suppliers are working on more lightweight and durable containers to reduce fuel burning and improve sustainability. While pharmaceutical transport has led to innovation in temperature -controlled logistics, there is still room for improvement in flower transport.
“Sustainability is a growing focus in logistics,” says Kothari. “Manufacturers are developing lighter and more robust ULDs to reduce fuel consumption and environmental impact. In the future, we can also see environmentally friendly, reusable packaging that maintains humidity and extends the flowers of the flowers. “
Although dedicated Udes for flowers may look like an attractive idea, the economic and operational realities make it impractical. Instead, logistics providers focus on efficient handling, strategic Uld positioning and sustainable innovation to meet the needs of the industry. Future developments in reusable, environmentally friendly packaging and optimized Ulvine design can further improve the efficiency of flower transport, but for the time being standard IUNS remain the best solution.
“Innovations such as eco-friendly or reusable packaging, which can help maintain temperature and humidity, and the expansion of the shelf life of flowers is possible innovations that need to be evaluated.
