Walmart Canada recently expanded its fleet to include its first 60-foot, multi-temperature refrigerated trailer.
The reefer trailer also is the first of its kind for Walmart in North America, the company said.
The custom-built, multi-temp refrigerated trailer from California-based Utility Trailer allows Walmart to ship more freight to stores in a single trip, resulting in improved supply chain efficiency and reduced C02 emissions.
“Introducing this 60-foot, custom-built, multi-temperature refrigerated trailer into our fleet is the latest example of how Walmart Canada is continually innovating within the supply chain and pushing boundaries in the industry,” said Patricio Dallan, senior vice president of supply chain for Walmart Canada. “When Walmart makes a change, it has a ripple effect. In this case, we’re introducing a new custom solution to the Canadian market that helps to reduce our total number of trips and emissions. We’re incredibly proud of this milestone.”
Departing Walmart’s Mississauga distribution center in Ontario for stores in Windsor and Woodstock, the new trailer can fit as many as 30 pallets of perishable goods, like meat and dry/wet produce, which require different transport temperatures, the company said. A standard 53-foot trailer can fit about 26 pallets. The increased capacity and multi-temperature zones provide the flexibility to service stores in a more efficient manner by pairing certain stops together that normally would not ship on the same trailer.
The deployment of a 60-foot reefer was made possible by a successful 2012 Special Vehicle Configuration Permit pilot program initiated by Walmart that tested the extended trailers on Ontario’s roads, Walmart said.
“This is a truly custom solution, purpose built for Walmart Canada to help us bring innovation to the industry and work toward reaching our regeneration goals,” said Brian Sookhai, senior manager of transportation innovation and planning at Walmart Canada. “Working closely with Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company, we manufactured this trailer that allows for multi-temperature control and more capacity than ever before.
“This allows us to ship products at a variety of temperatures and make fewer overall trips, reducing our carbon emissions by having fewer trucks on the road.”
