Chile to US Fruit Trade Down

Cool Carriers, the world’s largest operator of specialized reefer vessels, reports strong results despite a sharp downturn in demand for its Chilean subsidiary for the 2025/26 Summer season, from 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026.

Despite a sharp downturn in demand for imported fruits in the United States, Cool Carriers Chile moved 260,000 pallets of cherries, blueberries, grapes, and stone fruit to the United States.

Cool Carriers Chile operates maritime shipping routes out of the Chilean ports of Coquimbo and Valparaiso, delivering cargo to the ports of discharge in Gloucester, NJ, on the US East Coast, and Los Angeles, CA, on the West Coast.

In the 2025/26 Summer season, Cool Carriers Chile moved 178,000 pallets to Gloucester across 24 port calls with an average transit time of 12 days. This represents a market share of 46.5% (total exports from Chile to the destination over the period, including both reefer and container vessels), a growth of 11% compared with the 2024/25 Summer Season.

Furthermore, Cool Carriers moved 82,000 pallets to Los Angeles across 12 port calls with an average transit time of 12 days, achieving a record market share of 71.3%.

Ricardo Barckhahn, General Manager of Cool Carriers Chile, said: “Our performance over the Summer Season is a testament to the strength of Cool Carriers’ operating model. We achieved strong results despite an overall decline in shipping demand from the Chilean market to Los Angeles of around 25%, and a decline in demand to Gloucester of approximately 17%. This was driven by lower fruit demand, as well as stricter quality and condition requirements.”