The International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) has released its 2014 Global Cold Storage Capacity Report. The report shows that the total capacity of refrigerated warehouses was estimated at 552 million cubic meters worldwide in 2014, an increase of 92 million cubic meters (20 percent) since 2012.

India surpasses the US in cold storage capacity while China came in third.

“It's really interesting to see India surpass the US in total cold storage capacity with 131 million cubic meters of space, compared to 115 million cubic members for the US,” says Corey Rosenbusch, president & CEO, Global Cold Chain Alliance. “And as shown in the 2014 report, China is now the third largest with 76 million cubic meters of space.”

The 42-page report includes analyses on growth trends in global capacity, market development indicators, and characteristics of refrigerated warehouses around the world. New countries covered in the 2014 report include Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, El Salvador, Afghanistan, Dominican Republic, and Oman.

In all, the report features cold storage market data on 58 countries. Cold storage capacity is experiencing a growth rate above 5 percent per year during a sustained period of time in 17 countries. The long-term growth rates are highest in India, China, and Turkey.

The report found that household income is the main driver of global growth in refrigerated warehousing. According to researchers, the increase in household purchasing power is accompanied by changes in preferences favoring large-scale shopping formats such as supermarkets and hypermarkets.

More information on the report including several data charts can be found here.