Cold chain to rattle air transport

When it comes to drugs, transport costs are a drop in the bucket compared with product value. And the disparity can lead some drugmakers to inattentiveness when it comes to shipping costs. So says management consultancy Novumed, which adds in a press report that it expects especially strong growth for temperature-controlled pharmaceutical transport.

Watch for some high-quality shippers to "achieve a price premium by reducing the damage frequency for temperature-controlled drug transports," the consultancy says, in South East Shipping News.

Transports cooled to 2°C to 8°C, or at freezing temperatures, are growing at approximately 15 percent annually, according to the report. Worldwide flu-vaccine demand only heightens the focus on cold chain providers.

Annual transportation costs for the life sciences industry are estimated at $22 billion to $30 billion, a small part of the roughly $889 billion in sales. Temperature sensitive air transportation is about 25 percent of the transportation total, or $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion.

- read the report

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