National Cold Chain

What National Cold Chain does

National Cold Chain Inc. is a privately held Canadian logistics company that operates as an asset-light 3PL and 4PL focused exclusively on temperature-controlled (cold chain) supply chains for perishable food manufacturers and distributors. Founded in 2014 as an intermodal marketing company to introduce commercial 40-foot refrigerated intermodal service to Canadian shippers, NCC has grown into a North American provider with regional offices in Concord (HQ), Oakville, and Montreal in Canada, and Oakbrook Terrace (Chicago) and Gallatin (Tennessee) in the United States, and claims service reach into Mexico. Its service portfolio spans outsourced Transportation Management, cross-border intermodal distribution, multi-temperature LTL consolidation, intermodal transloading, and supply chain integration, with named flagship customers described as Canada's largest cultured dairy manufacturer, North America's largest premium fresh juice processor, and North America's largest food distributor.

The company is structured as a transportation broker rather than a motor carrier, earning transaction fees and managed-services revenue by arranging capacity through third-party motor carriers and through contracts with Class-1 Railroads that underpin its intermodal offering. Its Technology Platform provides a Transportation Management System alongside optimization, analytics, business intelligence reporting, engineering, integration, and visibility capabilities, delivered to enterprise shippers through direct field sales and inside sales teams distributed across its regional offices. Pricing is quote-based, contracts are multi-year, and payment terms are 30 calendar days from invoice, with a 2% per month service charge on overdue balances; aggregate liability under standard terms is capped at $2.00 per pound (CAD for Canadian shipments, USD for US shipments).

NCC markets to enterprise customers via direct relationship selling, a corporate website, and dedicated carrier and customer login portals, and positions itself as a domain specialist in perishable supply chains with cross-border and intermodal capabilities. No revenue, funding, M&A, leadership team, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed in the source material, and ownership, parent, and investor information is not publicly available, which constrains any deeper financial or organizational assessment.

Name

National Cold Chain

Legal name

National Cold Chain Inc.

Website

https://nationalcoldchain.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

National Cold Chain is a Canadian asset-light 3PL/4PL specializing in temperature-controlled logistics for perishable food manufacturers and distributors across North America, offering refrigerated intermodal, LTL consolidation, transportation management, and TMS-based visibility through carrier and rail partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cold Chain Logistics Services

NAICS

Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (493120), General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance (48412)

SIC

Trucking (No Local) (4213)

akta.pro primary industry

Food & Beverage Cold Chain Logistics (Fresh, Chilled, Frozen) (TLAIAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cold Chain 3PL (Temperature-Controlled Logistics) (TLAIAAAI), Cold Chain Cross-Docking, Transloading & Temperature-Controlled Drayage (TLAIAIAM)

Keywords

• Temperature-controlled logistics
• Cold chain transportation
• Perishable food logistics
• Intermodal freight services
• 3PL contract logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Concord

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transportation Brokerage: As a transportation broker, NCC arranges transportation services with third-party motor carriers and earns fees for arranging transportation and related logistics services. The company is responsible only for arranging transportation, not for performing it.
2. Contract Logistics Services: Contract logistics services developed for perishable supply chains with focus on Canadian National food distribution. Services include transportation management, LTL consolidation, and intermodal transloading.
3. 4PL Supply Chain Integration: As a 4PL, NCC acts as a supply chain integrator assembling and managing resources, capabilities, and technology intertwined with client and service provider resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

National Cold Chain is an asset-light 3PL/4PL logistics provider specializing in temperature-controlled supply chains for perishable goods. The company arranges refrigerated intermodal, highway, and LTL consolidation services across Canada, the US, and Mexico, acting primarily as a transportation broker and supply chain integrator for large food manufacturers and distributors. Service offerings are supported by a proprietary technology platform providing TMS, optimization, analytics, and end-to-end supply chain visibility.

Product overview

National Cold Chain operates as a logistics company offering two distinct service models: as a 3PL (third-party logistics provider), it delivers contract logistics services focused on perishable supply chains with emphasis on Canadian National food distribution; as a 4PL (fourth-party logistics provider), it acts as a supply chain integrator combining its own resources, capabilities, and technology with those of clients and service providers. The core product portfolio includes Coldchain (specialized perishable supply chain services such as outsourced transportation management, cross-border intermodal distribution, and multi-temperature LTL consolidation), NCC Logistics (comprehensive asset-light intermodal, highway, and logistics services across the US, Canada, and Mexico), and a Technology Platform providing turn-key access to TMS, Optimization, Analytics, Business Intelligence Reporting, Engineering, Integration, and Visibility tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NCC Logistics: Comprehensive asset-light intermodal, highway and logistics services throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Products and services

• Coldchain Specialized logistics services for perishable supply chains, including outsourced transportation management, cross-border intermodal distribution, and multi-temperature LTL consolidation and transloading for major Canadian food supply chains. Targets large food manufacturers and distributors such as Canada's largest cultured dairy manufacturer, North America's largest premium fresh juice processor, and North America's largest food distributor.
• NCC Logistics Comprehensive asset-light intermodal, highway, and logistics services throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, offered on transactional or contractual capacity, with cross-border and domestic intermodal capabilities, North American network access, and contracts with Class-1 Railroads.
• Technology Platform Turn-key access to advanced information systems, processes, and tools used in modern supply chains, encompassing Transportation Management System (TMS), Optimization, Analytics, Business Intelligence Reporting, Engineering, Integration, and Visibility capabilities for client supply chains.
• 3PL Services Contract logistics services developed for perishable supply chains with a specific focus on Canadian National food distribution, providing outsourced transportation management for enterprise food shippers.
• 4PL Services Supply chain integration services in which NCC acts as an integrator, assembling and managing its own resources, capabilities, and technology intertwined with those of clients and complementary service providers.

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Class-1 RailroadscoreOthersNational Cold Chain has established contracts with Class-1 Railroads enabling the company to provide intermodal transportation services across North America. These railroad partnerships form a foundational component of NCC's cross-border intermodal distribution capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lineage Logistics: Global cold-storage and temperature-controlled logistics operator (with North American assets since the Cold Box acquisition); a potential alternative integrator for food manufacturers that NCC serves.
• DSV: Global transport and logistics provider with substantial North American cold-chain capability post-Panalpina/GIL acquisition; competes with NCC for cross-border reefer and contract logistics RFPs from food shippers.
• Americold Realty Trust: World's largest publicly-listed cold-storage REIT with integrated transportation and supply-chain services; while asset-heavy in warehousing, it offers perishable shippers bundled cold logistics solutions that overlap NCC's transloading/3PL offering.
• Kuehne+Nagel: Global freight forwarder and integrated 3PL with a leading perishables/cold-chain practice (including former VersaCold in Canada) that competes head-to-head with NCC for cross-border perishable food mandates.

Direct peers

• Day & Ross: Canadian transportation and logistics company with dedicated refrigerated/LTL capacity serving food and retail shippers across Canada and the US; comparable to NCC in scale, geography and cold-chain focus.
• NFI Industries: North American asset-based 3PL with a dedicated temperature-controlled / cold-chain division offering dedicated trucking, LTL and warehousing; overlaps NCC's perishable food contract logistics mandate across the US/Canada.
• C.H. Robinson: North America's largest non-asset 3PL/broker with significant cold-chain and perishable freight operations; comparable to NCC as both monetize transportation brokerage fees across long-distance lanes rather than owning trucks.

Regional players

• Mullen Group: Canadian diversified transportation and logistics holding with refrigerated/logistics subsidiaries; comparable to NCC as a Canada-anchored logistics platform pursuing intermodal and cold-chain customers across Western Canada.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-cold-chain-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Cold Chain