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Refrigerated & Frozen Less-Than-Truckload Freight Shipping Services
What Is Reefer LTL Shipping?
Reefer LTL - short for refrigerated less-than-truckload - is a shipping method where multiple shippers share space on a single temperature-controlled trailer. Instead of paying for a full 53-foot reefer truck, you only pay for the pallet positions your shipment actually uses.
That makes it the most cost-effective way for small and mid-sized businesses to move perishable, frozen, or temperature-sensitive freight across North America.
Reefer LTL is ideal for companies shipping anywhere from one pallet to ten pallets of product that must stay within a specific temperature range during transit. Whether you’re a craft food brand shipping frozen meals to new retail accounts, a pharmaceutical distributor moving chilled biologics, or a cosmetics company protecting heat-sensitive formulas, refrigerated LTL keeps your cold chain intact without locking you into full truckload commitments.
Learn more about Freightzy's LTL freight.
Frozen LTL vs. Refrigerated LTL vs. Protect-From-Freeze
Not every temperature-controlled shipment requires the same conditions. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right service and avoid paying for more than you need.
Frozen LTL
Maintains trailer temperatures at approximately 0°F (−18°C). This is the standard for frozen foods, ice cream, frozen pharmaceuticals, and any product that must remain solid throughout transit.
Refrigerated (Chilled) LTL
Holds temperatures around 35°F (2°C). This covers fresh produce, dairy, meat, seafood, floral products, and most vaccines or biologics that require continuous cold chain integrity.
Protect-From-Freeze (Ambient) LTL
Keeps the trailer at roughly 55°F (13°C) to prevent freezing without full refrigeration. It’s commonly used for beverages, chocolate, certain cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products that are freeze-sensitive but don’t need active cooling.
Freightzy offers all three temperature bands through our carrier network, and you can select the exact band you need when requesting a quote.
How Reefer LTL Works with Freightzy
Shipping refrigerated freight doesn’t have to be complicated. With Freightzy, the entire process takes three steps.
1. Request a Quote
Enter your shipment details - origin, destination, weight, dimensions, and required temperature band - into our online quoting tool. You’ll receive a customized reefer LTL freight quote in under 10 minutes. No phone calls, no waiting on email. If you ship regularly, your account manager can also set up recurring rate agreements tailored to your lanes and volumes.
2. Book Your Space
Choose the temperature band that fits your product - frozen, chilled, or ambient - and select from our weekly carrier sailing schedule. Freightzy’s network of 100+ vetted reefer carriers covers lanes across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, with new carrier partners added monthly.
You book only the pallet positions you need, and we handle the consolidation.
3. Track in Real Time
Once your shipment is picked up, follow it from origin to delivery through our real-time tracking portal. Monitor live temperature readings, GPS location, estimated time of arrival, and receive instant delay alerts.
Full cold chain visibility means no surprises - you and your customers always know exactly where the freight is and that it’s at the right temperature.
Canada–U.S. Cross-Border Reefer LTL
Freightzy was built with cross-border cold chain logistics at its core. Headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, we specialize in refrigerated and frozen LTL shipments between Canada and the United States - a corridor most reefer LTL providers treat as an afterthought.
Our cross-border service covers the high-demand lanes: Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia into the U.S. Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, and West Coast, as well as southbound and northbound movements across the full Canada - U.S. border. We also support reefer LTL into and out of Mexico for businesses with North America-wide distribution needs.
Freightzy manages all cross-border documentation, including CFIA and FDA paperwork, product classification, and temperature compliance records required at the border. Our operations team coordinates customs clearance so your cold chain shipment clears without delays or temperature excursions. For Canadian businesses expanding into U.S. retail or food service, and for U.S. brands entering the Canadian market, Freightzy is the cross-border reefer LTL partner that makes it seamless.
Get a cross-border reefer LTL quote.
Learn about Cross-border shipping.