Why does a reefer cost more than a dry container?

A refrigerated container has a powered cooling unit, draws electricity throughout the voyage, needs monitoring, and requires a pre-trip inspection. Those add a premium over the equivalent dry-box rate, which this tool lets you model as a percentage or flat amount.

What is a pre-trip inspection?

A pre-trip inspection, or PTI, is a mandatory check that the reefer unit holds temperature and runs correctly before loading perishable cargo. Carriers charge a per-container fee for it, and skipping it risks cargo loss, so it is always added to cold-chain quotes.

What are plug-in or power-supply charges?

Reefers must be connected to power while waiting at the origin and destination terminals. Ports bill a per-day plug-in or monitoring charge, and a genset may be needed for inland legs without grid power, all of which add to the total cost.

Does cargo value affect the cost here?

Not directly in this freight estimate. Reefer freight is priced by the container and its cooling needs, not the cargo value. Cargo value matters for insurance, which you should estimate separately with a marine cargo premium tool.

Can I use this for air or road reefer?

The structure applies broadly, but the figures here reflect ocean reefer containers. For refrigerated air or trucking, replace the dry-box base with the relevant mode's base rate and adjust the premium, since cold-chain air carries a much larger premium.

Reefer / Refrigerated Cargo Cost Estimator

A refrigerated container costs more than a dry box because it carries a powered cooling unit, needs inspection, and draws plug-in power at every terminal. This estimator builds the total cold-chain cost by layering each of those charges on top of the dry-box base rate so exporters can validate a reefer quote.

How it works

The reefer premium is added to the dry base, then inspection and power charges stack on top:

premium = (mode = percent) ? dry base × premium% : premium amount
power   = (origin days + dest days) × plug-in rate per day
total   = dry base + premium + PTI fee + power + genset

The premium captures the cooling unit and monitoring, the PTI fee covers the mandatory pre-trip inspection, and the power charge covers terminal plug-in time at both ends.

Example and tips

A lane with a 1,400 dry-box base, a 40 percent reefer premium, a 120 PTI fee, and 6 total plug-in days at 35 per day works out to 1,400 + 560 + 120 + 210 = 2,290 before any inland genset. Keep your plug-in day estimate realistic, since reefer dwell at congested ports is the cost driver most often underestimated and can add hundreds if the box sits powered for a week.