Hot market for cold transport

The 62 operators in our survey saw their truck fleets increase by 3.6% over the past year to 13,752 vehicles, while their trailer fleets grew by 3% to 12,772.

Some 19 of the 62 operators increased their truck fleets while only five saw a decrease. There were notable increases at Buffaload, Romac, Gist, and Sysco GB, which includes Brakes. However, both Stef Langdons and Constellation Cold Logistics saw falls. The fact that there was no change at 37 of the operators reflects the stability of the market.

Last year the IGD predicted the total grocery market would grow by 4.3% in 2025, reaching £255bn. After that it said the market would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3%, with the market size climbing to £297bn by the end of 2030.

The past few years have seen a move away from tinned goods towards fresh and chilled products. According to the Chilled Food Association, the chilled prepared food market grew from £550m in 1989 to £12.6bn by 2017, and continues to grow.

There are also moves to boost interest in frozen foods. For example the British Frozen Food Federation has a web site, The Frozen Food Revolution, which points out that frozen products are not only cheaper than chilled, but also last longer, locking in important nutrients that are quickly lost in chilled products.

For this analysis we have included figures from third party logistics companies and own-account operators that operate predominantly temperature controlled fleets. We have excluded large 3PLs which operate across multiple markets as well as major retailers as it is not possible to separate out their temperature controlled fleets.

Fleet Data is Motor Transport’s listing of the UK’s largest third party and own account HGV fleet operators. Based on the weekly O-licence updates issued by the Office of the Traffic Commissioners, Fleet Data enables subscribers quickly to identify operators in each of the eight traffic areas based on the number of vehicles on the licence and type of operator.

 Temperature controlled operators ranked by number of trucks: