Cold Chain Temperature Monitoring Market

Market Overview

The global cold chain temperature monitoring market size was valued at USD 5996.1 Million in 2023. It is estimated to reach USD 22616.5 Million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 16% during the forecast period (2024–2032).

The process of storing and moving temperature-sensitive goods along a supply chain, typically from the site of manufacture to the point of usage, is called the "cold chain." The cold chain system employs thermal and chilled packaging techniques and logistical planning to guarantee the integrity of the goods transported and stored. There are several routes to move cold chain goods, including air, ocean, land, or train. Cold chain tracking and moving are also used to preserve the quality of the product being sent.

Cold chain tracking and driving can enable accurate real-time monitoring and historical analytics for the cold supply chain by logging essential environmental characteristics for cold chain products. Using cold chain tracking and driving solutions contributes to safer shipping and distribution, certified deliveries, higher product integrity/quality, and clients' achievement of predictive maintenance, which can increase operational effectiveness and overall customer happiness. Cold chain monitoring and tracking technologies are most frequently used in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industries.

Market Dynamics

Global Cold Chain Temperature Monitoring Market Drivers

Expansion of the Pharmaceutical Industry

Some pharmaceutical products, including high-value vaccines and drugs, are extremely temperature-sensitive and require effective temperature monitoring solutions throughout the supply chain. Pharmaceutical companies handling temperature-sensitive products increasingly use cold storage to minimize supply chain risks associated with temperature fluctuations. Besides, the increasing demand for pharmaceutical products, specifically in developing countries, is expected to propel the market over the forecast period.

Additionally, the COVID-19 outbreak across the globe has made cold chain temperature monitoring one of the most essential aspects of facility management. Cold chain temperature monitoring equipment, such as data loggers, is being used to track the temperature of COVID-19 test samples in transit. Monitoring the temperatures of COVID-19 test samples is of utmost importance as the samples go through a long supply chain. Similarly, there has been a notable rise in the transportation of various pharmaceutical products, including medicines and vaccines, across regions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby driving market growth.

Increasing Demand for Enhanced Food Quality and Need to Reduce Food Wastage

The surging global population and the consequent increase in the consumption of foods and beverages have further increased the demand for efficient packaging products and solutions. Certain packaging products and solutions tend to be temperature-sensitive and must be stored at an optimum temperature level to maintain the quality and taste of the stored product. Moreover, growing awareness about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle has also triggered the demand for quality food. Organic food products, often not treated with preservatives, tend to perish faster and must be stored at optimum temperature.

Additionally, improper refrigeration of food during the logistical process leads to excessive food spoilage/wastage. To overcome such problems, organizations have increased spending on technologies such as smart refrigerator systems and cloud computing solutions for temperature and humidity monitoring. Such factors are estimated to boost market growth.

Global Cold Chain Temperature Monitoring Market Restraint

High Cost of Temperature Monitoring Equipment in Developing Nations

The penetration of advanced technologies across developing countries, including South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico, is lower than in developed nations. Due to the limited availability of the latest and advanced equipment and solutions, such as IoT-enabled real-time sensing devices and cloud-based software, the costs are higher in these countries. Moreover, due to the lack of advanced component manufacturing capabilities, equipment manufacturers must import a range of critical components, including thermocouples, RTDs, and Bluetooth sensors. As a result, the prices of temperature monitoring equipment increase, making it difficult for small- and medium-scale cold chain logistic and warehouse providers to use technologically advanced temperature monitoring equipment, restraining the market expansion.

Global Cold Chain Temperature Monitoring Market Opportunities

Internet of Things (IoT) in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Operational efficiencies, regulatory compliance, batch manufacturing, and maintaining product quality are prominent challenges pharmaceutical manufacturers face. Businesses are investing in IoT-enabled cold chain temperature monitoring solutions to address these issues. The IoT-enabled cold chains help manufacturers increase security, accuracy, and efficiency by optimizing and digitizing critical functions, including manufacturing and supply chain management. In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have increasingly employed IoT solutions for real-time temperature updates and alerts in logistical processes. These updates run on cloud-based real-time predictive analytics and help identify issues such as developing hotspots and small zones where the temperature can exceed standard norms.

Additionally, real-time tracking can help detect fluctuations mainly at the package level, allowing to mitigate damage immediately. Also, real-time monitoring helps reduce cold chain and reshipping costs by reducing the chances of spoilage. Further, the use of Automatic Information Data Collection (AIDC) with Auto-ID for smart serialization and electronic chips in packaging material is rising in cold chains to ensure that conditions are maintained for temperature-sensitive drugs, thereby creating opportunities for market growth.

Regional Analysis

North America Dominates the Global Market

Based on region, the global cold chain temperature monitoring market share is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa.

North America is the most significant global cold chain temperature monitoring market shareholder and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 16.3% during the forecast period. The region dominates the overall market due to the surging demand for temperature monitors from food storage facilities and logistics operators. The people in this region's changing dietary habits due to rising obesity levels have been observed in recent years. The rising demand for fresh and organic foods such as fresh leafy vegetables, organic milk, and organic eggs necessitates careful handling and monitoring at each level of storage and transport to prevent deterioration. This is fueling regional cold chain temperature monitoring market growth.

Furthermore, North America is anticipated to remain the market leader in the following years because of the stringent government restrictions surrounding the cold chain monitoring implemented in nations like the US and Canada. The region's cold chain monitoring market has benefited greatly from the contributions of the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Strict guidelines are established to guarantee the security, suitable handling, and distribution of pharmaceutical products. The Global Cold Chain Alliance's (GCCA) initiatives and the area's stringent food safety regulations directly impact the cold chain monitoring market.

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to grow quickly among all regions, providing enormous growth prospects for businesses considering long-term investments. Some factors anticipated to propel regional market expansion include the expanding population, increasing industrialization, ongoing development of transportation and warehousing networks, and increased demand for processed and canned food products. Emerging nations like China, Singapore, Thailand, and India are expected to aid in the regional market's expansion. Due to several factors, including technological development, the introduction of smart sensors, and the expansion of the pharmaceutical and processed food sectors, the market in China is predicted to experience steady growth over the projection period.

Additionally, the significant increase in pharmaceutical items and other medical demands is just one of several reasons for the expansion. The Chinese government's stringent requirements to safeguard food quality encourage cold chain firms to adopt temperature monitoring devices. In addition, governments in this region are taking action to monitor the cold chain logistically. For instance, the Japanese government is working hard to provide vaccines and contribute to "Last One Mile Support" by building cold logistics infrastructure in developing countries and ensuring equitable vaccination access in every region worldwide as the world continues to experience COVID-19 vaccine shortages. Such factors propel regional market growth.

Segmental Analysis

The global cold chain temperature monitoring market is segmented by hardware, software, and application.

Based on hardware, the global cold chain temperature monitoring market share is divided into conventional temperature loggers, real-time monitoring devices, resistance temperature detectors, temperature indicators, and others. 

The conventional temperature loggers segment is the highest significant contributor to the market and is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 15.4% over the forecast period. The significant share of the conventional temperature loggers segment might be attributed to the high need and preference for a dependable and affordable solution. In addition, the industry is fragmented with various traditional temperature monitor suppliers due to the increasing demand.

The food processing and transportation industries widely use temperature indicators in addition to traditional and real-time monitors. A tool or smart label that records and shows a product's time-temperature history is known as a time-temperature indicator. Time-temperature indicators are frequently employed on pharmaceutical and medical products to show exposure to severe temperatures. In addition, egg loggers are another logger category, such as the MadgeTech EggTemp Data Logger and the OMEGA Engineering OM-CP-EGGTEMP series loggers. Such loggers are put in egg trays to track the temperature during transportation, storage, and incubation. The use of USB-supported PDF data recorders for tracking pharmaceutical and perishable goods is also rising due to their simplicity in producing PDF reports.

Based on software, the global cold chain temperature monitoring market share is segmented into on-premise and cloud-based. 

The on-premise segment owns the highest market share and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 16.2% over the forecast period. This high percentage of this segment can be attributed to transportation and warehousing organizations' preference for local data storage on their servers and IT infrastructure. Choosing on-premises software has also been driven by worries about the security and safety of cloud-based technologies. However, the creation of numerous safe protocols used in cutting-edge cloud-based solutions is assisting in ending the related security worries.

The cloud-based category is anticipated to develop fastest over the forecast period. Real-time monitoring and reporting of the status are made possible by cloud-based technologies. The effectiveness and efficiency of the cold chain are also improved by cloud-based technologies, especially during long-distance transits. The cold chain is now running more effectively because of the integration of real-time monitoring devices with mobile phones and tablets. Customers have significantly increased operational effectiveness and sped up the processes for measuring each item's temperature by integrating technology in this way.

Based on application, the global cold chain temperature monitoring market share is bifurcated into pharmaceuticals, food, and others.

The food segment dominates the global market and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 16.5% over the forecast period. The food segment is further sub-segmented into dairy products, fish, meat and seafood, and processed food. The fish, meat, and seafood application dominates the market, which can be attributed to increased beef and chicken exported from the United States and Brazil. Meat products must be kept in a proper frozen temperature range during transit and storage because they are subject to natural, ongoing, and irreversible bio-physiochemical changes. The increase in consumption of processed goods, including cereals, cookies, chips, protein bars, granola bars, and other microwaveable items by individuals worldwide is responsible for the growth.

The pharmaceutical market is projected to grow at a significant rate. The strict regulatory criteria that are in place around the world to guarantee the safe and secure storage and transportation of pharmaceutical products can be credited with the increase. Certain treatments and medications must be delivered and stored at constant temperatures due to their great sensitivity to temperature. As a result, supply chain managers are choosing to store and transport pharmaceutical products using cold chain temperature monitoring hardware and software. The pharmaceutical industry's demand for temperature monitors is anticipated to grow because of the increased traffic in drugs and medications brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent Developments

• February 2023- Danfoss partnered with the US retail technology firm Lizard Monitoring to assist North American retailers in preventing food loss. The Lizard's sensor networks reportedly complement Danfoss' Alsense monitoring suite to ensure continued temperature monitoring, providing store managers and food safety executives with comprehensive data on refrigeration performance and environmental compliance.
• June 2023- Refrigerated Trailer Services (RTS) was added to Orbcomm's authorized distribution network in the United Kingdom. RTS, a global provider of used refrigerated trailers, will market Orbcomm's temperature dataloggers for cold chain compliance and real-time temperature monitoring to clients in the transportation, pharmaceutical, and food industries.