Four departments jointly issued a document to promote the high-quality development of cold chain, with a focus on lntermodal ultimodal transport of refrigerated containers

In December 2024, the Ministry of Transport, Railway Bureau and other four departments jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the High Quality Development of Cold Chain Logistics Transportation", which clearly promoted standardized refrigerated containers and other modular carriers, and required the standardized use of sea refrigerated containers in road transportation to be achieved by 2025. The document proposes to carry out actions to improve port and shipping services based on blockchain and the Internet of Things, encouraging shipping companies to install intelligent monitoring devices and achieve real-time temperature control sharing among multiple parties.

The policy also supports the innovation of the "sea freight+cold chain train" intermodal mode, promoting seamless connection between railway cold chain trains and sea freight express lines. Industry analysis shows that this move will accelerate the construction of a refrigerated container multimodal transport network. Currently, the Yangtze River Delta region has opened a refrigerated container sea rail intermodal line to Southeast Asia, increasing cargo turnover efficiency by 30% and reducing cross-border fresh food transportation costs by about 25%.