Cold chain logistics is the discipline of keeping temperature-sensitive products — pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines, clinical trial materials, lab specimens — inside their required temperature range from the moment they leave your dock until the moment they're signed for. In pharmaceutical transportation, a single excursion can compromise an entire load. That's why Total Freight Transportation built its operation around one thing: maintaining and documenting temperature, every mile.
We operate a dedicated refrigerated fleet out of the Chicago O'Hare corridor, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and lanes across the Midwest. Every vehicle carries GPS tracking and continuous temperature monitoring, and every shipment travels with chain-of-custody documentation and complete temperature reports your quality team can file the day the freight arrives.
Temperature Ranges We Run
| Range | Typical Products | Equipment |
|---|---|---|
| 2–8°C Refrigerated | Vaccines, insulin, biologics, most pharmaceuticals | All fleet classes, calibrated reefer units |
| -20°C Frozen | Frozen pharmaceuticals, certain biologics and reagents | Cargo vans through 53' trailers |
| -80°C Ultra-Cold | Clinical trial materials, specialty biologics | Sprinter vans with multi-temp zones & backup power |
| +15 to +25°C CRT | Controlled room temperature pharmaceuticals | All fleet classes, dual-zone available |
A Fleet Sized to the Shipment
Cold chain in Chicago isn't one-size-fits-all. An urgent 30-pound sample run to a hospital pharmacy and a 40,000-pound distribution load need different equipment — and paying for the wrong size is wasted money. Our fleet spans four vehicle classes: refrigerated cargo vans (up to 500 lbs) for urgent small shipments, Sprinter vans (up to 3,000 lbs) with multi-temp zones and backup power, box trucks with lift gates (up to 10,000 lbs), and 53' refrigerated trailers (up to 44,000 lbs) for full truckload and long haul.
We serve hospitals, pharmacies, dialysis centers, doctors' offices, clinical trial sites, and pharmaceutical distributors — on scheduled recurring routes or on-demand and expedited when the clock is running.
Why Chicago Shippers Choose Us
Location matters in cold chain. Being minutes from O'Hare means faster recovery of inbound air freight, shorter pre-cool-to-pickup windows, and same-day reach across the entire Chicago metro — Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, Naperville, and the full I-90/I-294 industrial corridor. And because pharmaceutical freight doesn't respect business hours, our dispatch line is answered around the clock: nights, weekends, holidays.
Every load moves under standard operating procedures built for pharmaceutical handling — trained drivers, secure chain of custody, and monitoring systems that alert our team the moment a reading trends toward the edge of range, so corrective action happens before an excursion does.
Have a temperature-sensitive shipment?
Get a quote back fast — usually within the hour during business hours.
Request a Quote
Request a Cold Chain Quote
Prefer to talk? Call our 24/7 dispatch line: (224) 628-4938