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Solving the dry ice challenge for COVID vaccine

UPS invests in production capability, mobile freezer units to aid distribution; SkyCell ultracold airfreight container allows more vaccine to be transported per flight

Eric Kulisch
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Dry ice packing for UPS temperature-controlled shipments. (Photo: UPS)

(Updated Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020, 9:05 ET with details on Air France KLM Martinair and SkyCell)

Express delivery and logistics giant UPS (NYSE: UPS) on Tuesday said it has invested in machines to produce dry ice for transport and storage of frozen COVID-19 vaccines, while Switzerland-based SkyCell revealed a new ultracold container that enables larger vaccine shipments by air because less dry ice is required.

The new investments come as governments and industry are racing to prepare for a massive logistics campaign to distribute billions of vaccine doses around the world, with early candidates requiring robust cold-chain capabilities because of their extreme temperature sensitivity.

UPS, one of a handful of top-tier logistics companies involved in the initial delivery rush of vaccines, said its health care supply chain unit can now produce up to 1,200 pounds of dry ice per hour at the company’s Worldport package hub in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Spokesman David Graves said the manufacturing equipment represents UPS’ first production capacity of dry ice and that additional needs will be supplemented by third parties in Louisville, Ontario, Canada; and Dallas. “After thorough analysis, it was determined [those locations] represent the best logistics options for our air and ground networks, enabling us to reach populations most efficiently,” he said in an email. 

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    3 Comments

    1. John Smith

      Associated photo gives me chills. Scoop shovel is subject to spills over the side and front. 18″ between the tub and the box…can’t you move it adjacent, or put a guard down to avoid spillage? The scoop wielder is hardly dressed for the work. Loose sleeves and open collars allow dry ice to contact are skin if there is a slip and fall causing burns. Looks casual (sloppy).

    2. Chris Grassi

      I would assume that UPS was actually referring to Ontario, California, not Ontario, Canada. One of their regional super-hubs is in Ontario, California.

    3. Stephen Webster

      This is good FedEx and UPS and others need to work together. Any mistakes will cost lives. In Canada Purolator is also working on items along with possibly the military.

    Comments are closed.

    Eric Kulisch

    Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com