Business along the cold chain grew at a record pace in 2020 due to the dual drivers of pandemic shopping and the continued rise of e-commerce. Along with that growth came the increased need for labor to keep goods and supplies moving at an accelerated pace to their destinations. Even with the pandemic fading at the mid-point of 2021, orders along the supply chain are still robust, and the need to hire additional workers to help meet daily demand is continuous.
Traditionally, one overlooked and underutilized labor pool has been women. The industry has been a male-dominated field for decades, but the need for additional help today—combined with increased automation taking many of the repetitive and physically taxing jobs out of the equation—has put women in a better situation to start a cold chain career.