Cold Chain Logistics: Why Pharma, Automation and Utilisation Now Decide Who Wins
Updated: 4 days ago
Executive summary. Cold chain logistics spent the last decade building capacity for a world that seemed to need endless refrigerated space. In 2026 the industry is learning a harder lesson: space alone does not make money. Utilisation, automation, energy efficiency and the ability to handle temperature-sensitive medicines decide which operators earn their cost of capital. Strategic Revenue Insights estimates the global cold chain logistics market at USD 348.0 billion in 2025, rising to USD 667.2 billion by 2034 at a 7.50 percent compound annual growth rate. Demand for temperature-sensitive food and pharmaceuticals, stricter safety regulation, global trade in perishables, preference for fresh food and digital technologies such as IoT and blockchain are driving it. This article sets out five lessons from the warehouse operators, carriers and shippers moving first, with takeaways for strategy, pharma, automation, energy and revenue.
The structure of the market explains where value is concentrating. Strategic Revenue Insights' Cold Chain Logistics Market research finds that refrigerated transportation holds the largest share, that pharmaceuticals and biologics is the fastest growing application, and that North America is the largest region while Asia Pacific is the fastest growing. The research names rising demand for temperature-sensitive products in food and pharmaceuticals, stricter food safety and pharmaceutical storage regulation, growth in global trade of perishables, consumer preference for fresh and organic products and digital technologies such as IoT and blockchain as drivers, and high operating costs, regulatory scrutiny and the need for skilled personnel as challenges. It lists Lineage, Americold, NewCold, United States Cold Storage, Maersk, Kuehne + Nagel, DHL, Nichirei Logistics, CJ Logistics and Burris Logistics among the leading companies.
The largest operator's results show the shift from growth to discipline. Lineage reported full-year 2025 revenue of USD 5,355 million, flat on 2024, with adjusted EBITDA down 2.3 percent to USD 1,298 million and a GAAP net loss of USD 113 million, according to its February 2026 release. Management said same-store physical occupancy improved by 400 basis points from the prior quarter to 79.3 percent in the fourth quarter, while container volumes fell 9 percent year on year as tariff uncertainty hit import and export flows. In the same year Lineage bought four cold storage warehouses from Tyson Foods for USD 256 million and agreed to build two fully automated warehouses with Tyson as anchor customer. Demand is long term; returns now depend on how well capacity is used.
Why the Cold Chain Logistics Market Is Entering a New Phase
Three structural forces are converging.
The capacity cycle has turned. After years of rapid building, refrigerated warehouse occupancy has fallen from its pandemic highs in several markets, and customers have reduced the extra inventory they carried. Operators with idle space face fixed costs for power, labour and capital. The result is a market that rewards utilisation and pricing discipline over square footage.
Medicines are changing the requirements. Biologics, vaccines, cell and gene therapies and GLP-1 weight-loss drugs require controlled temperatures, documented chain of custody and often frozen or ultra-cold storage. SRI's research identifies pharmaceuticals and biologics as the fastest growing application. Pharma customers pay more and stay longer, but they demand validated facilities and compliance.
Automation and energy have become the margin. Labour and electricity are the two biggest operating costs in a cold store, and SRI's research names high operating costs as a challenge. Automated storage and retrieval systems, robotic handling in freezer environments and energy management cut both, which is why new builds such as Lineage's Tyson project are fully automated.
These forces explain SRI's forecast of steady growth, with value concentrating in pharmaceuticals, automated facilities and Asia Pacific.
Five Lessons From the Companies Moving First
The warehouse operators, carriers and shippers turning these forces into advantage share a recognisable pattern. We have distilled it into five lessons, each followed by a takeaway for a specific leadership function.
Lesson 1: Sell Utilisation and Integration, Not Space
The traditional cold storage business sold pallet positions. The operators growing fastest sell an integrated service: storage, blast freezing, value-added processing, transport and inventory visibility under one contract, often dedicated to a single anchor customer. That model keeps buildings full, spreads fixed costs and makes switching harder.
Anchor customer facilities, such as the automated warehouses Lineage agreed to build for Tyson, are one expression of this. Another is the combination of warehousing and refrigerated transport, which SRI's research identifies as the largest segment, into a single cold chain offer from production to retail. Integration also improves data: an operator that sees inventory across storage and transport can optimise both.
"In cold storage, an empty pallet position costs almost as much to run as a full one. The business is not building space. It is filling it."
Takeaway on strategy. Shift from selling pallet positions to integrated, contracted services: storage, processing, transport and visibility under one agreement. Pursue anchor customer and build-to-suit facilities, and price on utilisation and service level rather than space alone.
Lesson 2: Build a Pharma-Grade Cold Chain
SRI's research identifies pharmaceuticals and biologics as the fastest growing application. Medicines need validated temperature control from minus 80 degrees to controlled room temperature, continuous monitoring, documented chain of custody and compliance with good distribution practice. The operators moving first build pharma-grade facilities and transport networks as distinct businesses, with qualified staff, validated processes and audit-ready records.
Demand is broadening. Weight-loss and diabetes drugs, biologics and personalised therapies all increase the volume and complexity of temperature-controlled pharmaceutical logistics. Some products are moving to ambient-stable formats, as we discussed in how aseptic packaging is turning shelf stability into a strategic advantage, but the frozen and ultra-cold segments continue to grow.
The healthcare side of the same shift appears in how ambulatory infusion centers are rebuilding specialty drug delivery, where reliable delivery of biologics to new sites of care is a prerequisite.
Takeaway on pharma. Build validated, pharma-grade storage and transport with continuous monitoring and audit-ready documentation. Develop ultra-cold and frozen capability for biologics and advanced therapies, and price on compliance and reliability.
Lesson 3: Automate the Freezer
Working in a freezer at minus 20 degrees or colder is hard on people and expensive to staff, and SRI's research names the need for skilled personnel as a challenge. Automated storage and retrieval systems, high-bay automated freezers, robotic palletising and automated guided vehicles reduce labour, increase storage density and improve accuracy. They also reduce the energy lost when doors open and people move through cold space.
The economics favour automation most in new builds and in high-throughput sites serving large customers. The operators moving first design new facilities around automation and retrofit existing sites selectively. The decision mirrors the one in the logistics sortation automation decision: automation pays when volumes are predictable and labour is scarce.
"Robots do not mind the cold. In a freezer, that alone changes the economics of the building."
Takeaway on automation. Design new cold stores around automated storage and retrieval and robotic handling, retrofit high-throughput sites selectively, and measure the payback on labour, density, accuracy and energy together.
Lesson 4: Energy Efficiency Is the Hidden Margin
Refrigeration runs around the clock, and electricity is one of the largest costs in cold chain operations. The operators moving first treat energy as a managed asset: efficient refrigerants and compressors, insulated and automated buildings, on-site solar, battery storage, demand response agreements with utilities and digital monitoring of every zone. A well-run energy programme can turn a cold store into a flexible grid asset that earns revenue by shifting load.
SRI's research names digital technologies such as IoT as a driver. Sensors that track temperature, door openings and compressor performance protect product quality and cut energy waste at the same time. The same logic of managing utilities as systems appears in how compressed air is being run as an energy system.
Refrigerant regulation is part of the picture. Phase-downs of high global warming potential refrigerants are pushing operators toward natural refrigerants such as ammonia and carbon dioxide, which require capital and skills.
Takeaway on energy. Manage energy as a core margin lever: efficient refrigeration, natural refrigerants, insulation, on-site generation and storage, demand response and zone-level monitoring. Report energy and emissions per pallet to customers who are measuring their own supply chain footprint.
Lesson 5: Follow Trade and Protein Into Asia Pacific
SRI's research identifies North America as the largest region and Asia Pacific as the fastest growing. Rising incomes, urbanisation, growth in fresh and frozen food retail, e-commerce grocery and expanding pharmaceutical production are creating demand for modern cold chain capacity across China, India, Southeast Asia and Australia, where much of the existing infrastructure is fragmented or outdated.
The operators moving first expand through partnerships, acquisitions and new automated facilities, and they build networks that connect ports, production regions and cities. Trade policy matters: Lineage's 2025 container volume decline shows how tariffs can shift flows quickly, which favours networks that serve domestic consumption as well as exports. SRI's research names e-commerce and last-mile delivery as an opportunity.
The capabilities that decide who captures this demand are specific:
An integrated, contracted service model that keeps facilities full.
Pharma-grade, validated storage and transport, including ultra-cold.
Automated freezers and handling designed into new builds.
Energy management and natural refrigerants as margin levers.
A network that grows with domestic consumption in Asia Pacific.
Companies evaluating these competitive dynamics in greater detail can use SRI's Cold Chain Logistics Market analysis to assess service, temperature, application and regional segments and the positioning of the leading operators.
Takeaway on market development. Expand in Asia Pacific through partnerships, acquisitions and automated new builds, connect ports, production and cities into networks, and balance export-linked capacity with facilities serving domestic food, e-commerce and pharmaceutical demand.
Where the Opportunity Is Concentrating
Value is moving toward pharmaceuticals, automation and integrated networks.
By service, refrigerated transportation is the largest segment, refrigerated warehousing is where automation and pharma-grade capacity are changing economics, and value-added services such as blast freezing and processing improve utilisation.
By application, food remains the largest volume base across meat, seafood, dairy and frozen products, while pharmaceuticals and biologics are the fastest growing on biologics and new drug classes.
By temperature range, chilled and frozen dominate, while ultra-cold is a smaller but high-value niche for advanced therapies.
By geography, North America is the largest market, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing on consumption and infrastructure investment, and Europe is shaped by pharmaceutical regulation and energy cost.
At the Horizon: What to Watch Over the Next Three Years
Occupancy and pricing. Same-store occupancy and rate trends at the largest operators will show whether the capacity overhang is clearing.
Pharma volume growth. Volumes of biologics and weight-loss drugs moving through temperature-controlled networks are the leading indicator for the fastest growing application.
Trade flows. Tariff and trade policy will keep shifting import and export volumes, testing the resilience of port-linked cold storage.
"The next phase of cold chain logistics will not be won by whoever builds the most square metres. It will be won by whoever keeps them full, cold for the least energy and trusted with the most valuable products."
The Strategic Revenue Opportunity
For operators, the task is to raise utilisation through integrated contracts, build pharma capability, automate and manage energy. For food and pharmaceutical shippers, the opportunity is long-term partnerships with operators who can guarantee compliance and visibility. For equipment and technology suppliers, the signal is demand for freezer automation, natural refrigerants and monitoring. For investors, the test is returns per pallet rather than total capacity.
Market intelligence turns these questions into decisions. Segment-level sizing shows where service and application demand is concentrating, competitive analysis shows how operators are positioned, and regional analysis shows where consumption and infrastructure gaps will pull demand first. This is the path from market signals to strategic insight to revenue impact.
Takeaway on revenue. Treat the cold chain logistics market as four revenue pools: refrigerated transport sold on reliability and coverage, warehousing sold on utilisation and integration, pharma-grade services sold on compliance, and value-added and energy services sold on efficiency. Each needs its own pricing and contract model. Grow pharma and automated capacity where demand is rising fastest.
The Next Leg: Preparing for the Journey Ahead
The defining shift in cold chain logistics is that capacity has stopped being the advantage and utilisation has started. That changes how operators sell, invest and compete. The companies moving first are not the ones with the most buildings; they are the ones selling integrated services, building pharma-grade networks, automating freezers, managing energy and following consumption into Asia Pacific.
The next three years will decide which operators earn their cost of capital and which carry idle space. Decision-makers should secure anchor contracts, invest in pharma capability and automation, manage energy as a margin and track occupancy, pharma volumes and trade flows. Companies evaluating growth opportunities in this market can use Strategic Revenue Insights' Cold Chain Logistics Market report to assess market size, competitive dynamics, regional opportunities and strategic growth priorities.
Sources: Strategic Revenue Insights, Cold Chain Logistics Market report (2026); Lineage full year 2025 results (Feb 2026).
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is the cold chain logistics market?
Strategic Revenue Insights estimates the global cold chain logistics market at USD 348.0 billion in 2025, rising to USD 667.2 billion by 2034 at a 7.50 percent compound annual growth rate.
Why is utilisation now critical in cold chain logistics?
After years of rapid building, refrigerated warehouse occupancy has fallen from pandemic highs while power, labour and capital costs stay fixed. Operators that keep facilities full earn their cost of capital.
Which cold chain segments lead?
Refrigerated transportation holds the largest share, pharmaceuticals and biologics is the fastest growing application, North America is the largest region and Asia Pacific the fastest growing.
Who are the leading cold chain logistics companies?
SRI's research lists Lineage, Americold, NewCold, United States Cold Storage, Maersk, Kuehne + Nagel, DHL, Nichirei Logistics, CJ Logistics and Burris Logistics among the leading companies.
About the authors: This article was prepared by the Strategic Revenue Insights research team, which combines market intelligence, competitive analysis and strategic advisory for growth-stage, mid-market and enterprise organisations across the automotive and logistics sector. Sector analyst: Anirudh Singh, Research Analyst. Our market estimates combine primary research (interviews, surveys and expert panels) with secondary data (industry reports, databases and public disclosures); read more about how Strategic Revenue Insights works. To discuss this market with our analysts, contact our team.
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