Five rules for shipping cryogenic cargo

Cryogenic shipments account for less than 3% of our volume but more than a third of our claims. These five rules prevent most of them.

1. Pre-chill the container

Load cargo into a container that has held its target temperature for at least one full cycle.

2. Declare the thermal class

Every cryo shipment needs a thermal class on its manifest so the right hold is assigned.

3. Avoid gravity-well transfers

Each transfer through a gravity well costs about 0.4 K of thermal margin. Book direct lanes, or ship with Quantum Express, which skips gravity wells entirely.

4. Track the hold temperature

Subscribe to shipment.temperature_alert webhooks to hear about excursions while there is time to act.

5. Plan for customs holds

Quarantine inspections can add a full cycle. See the Cargo Handbook for the stations with cold-storage customs bays.