Introduction

This report provides data on refrigerated warehouse capacity in 51 countries using information collected from international offices of the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). The primary data source was a survey administered between January and May 2020 by the GCCA staff. In addition, an official government report was a source for part of the information on the United States (U.S. Department of Agriculture).

 

Download Report

Non-Members can purchase this report in the GCCA store. 

 

Summary of the Findings

The total capacity of refrigerated warehouses worldwide was 719 million cubic meters in 2020, 16.7% greater than the capacity reported in 2018. The increase in reported capacity since 2018 was largely from North America and China. The United States, at 156 million cubic meters, was the single largest country market, followed by India at 150 million cubic meters and China at 131 million cubic meters.

Refrigerated warehouse space was distributed unevenly across countries based on the index of market penetration developed by the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA). The market development index is calculated as cold storage capacity per urban resident. The worldwide average in 2020 was 0.15, with a range from 0.9 to less than 0.1 cubic meters per resident. The urban population is used in this benchmark because it is expected that those with middle-class income concentrate in these areas. In developing country markets, the middle-class and high-income consumer segments support the demand for refrigerated and frozen foods, which ultimately drives the refrigerated warehouse service industry.