Temperature-Controlled Shipping Services
Mercury can handle all temperature-controlled shipping for you, including cold chain and phase-change materials.
Cold-Chain
BioPharma
Diagnostic Kits
Temperature-Sensitive Shipping Is a Vital Aspect of Supply Chain Management
The integrity of certain items, like life-saving medications and diagnostic specimen samples, can be compromised without proper temperature control.
Careful planning and coordination are critical to ensure the necessary equipment and processes are in place to maintain the desired temperature throughout the shipment process. This may include special packaging materials such as dry ice and phase change materials or refrigerated trucks and storage containers.
Temperature-sensitive shipping also requires constant monitoring to ensure that any sudden changes in temperature can be addressed immediately, such as when your shipment is held in customs or due to airline flight delays or cancellations. In such situations, we will assist with dry ice delivery and replenishment.
Our Services
Mercury can handle all temperature-sensitive shipping for you, both domestically and internationally. We provide shipping services for biological samples for the life science industry. We proactively track every shipment, solving issues on your behalf, all with no added service fees or contracts.
Temperature-Controlled Vehicle (TCV) Shipping
Active-refrigerated vans and trucks that keep your payload in spec for every mile—coordinated by Mercury’s 24 / 7 control-tower squads.
What is a TCV move?
A Temperature-Controlled Vehicle shipment travels door-to-door in a dedicated, actively refrigerated van or truck driven by a GDP-trained operator. The cargo space is a rolling cold room—continuously cooled, heated, or dual-zoned—so your materials remain at precise set-points without relying solely on passive packaging.
Why choose TCV?
Challenge with passive cold-chain or air freight | How TCV solves it |
Large, heavy, or odd-shaped loads that exceed parcel or airline limits | Full-vehicle capacity (from Sprinter vans to 53-ft trailers) |
Dry-ice or PCM limits in aircraft cabins and sort hubs | Active refrigeration delivers limitless runtime at −25 °C to +25 °C |
Airport congestion & flight cancellations | Direct, nonstop ground route under Mercury squad monitoring |
Multiple hand-offs in hub-and-spoke networks | Single driver, sealed vehicle, continuous GPS & temp telemetry |
Regional moves where air adds no speed | TCV often equals or beats air+road transit under 1,000 km |
Temperature profiles supported
Range | Examples |
Deep-Frozen −25 °C to −15 °C | Cell banks, viral vectors, bespoke reagents |
Frozen −20 °C | Bulk dry-ice shipments, pre-packed clinical kits |
Refrigerated 2 – 8 °C | Vaccines, QC samples, stability studies |
Controlled Room Temp 15 – 25 °C | Finished drug product, diagnostics, APIs |
Dual-zone loads | Mixed CRT & refrigerated pallets in one run |
Redundant power and data loggers ensure compliance.
How it works
Plan & Book – Enter origin, destination, payload size, and temperature set-point in the Mercury Portal or call our team.
Pre-trip Checks – Vehicle is pre-cooled/heated, calibrated, and sealed; backup gel packs or dry ice added if required.
White-Glove Pickup – Driver verifies count, condition, and temp, then secures cargo with e-seals and shock restraints.
In-Transit Monitoring – Live GPS, door, and temperature telemetry feed the Mercury Portal; squads intervene on any deviation.
Direct Delivery – Driver unloads at the exact lab, cleanroom, or loading dock; POD, temperature graph, and seal numbers are uploaded instantly.
Ideal use cases
Bulk lots of CAR-T or gene-therapy doses moving between regional manufacturing and infusion centers
Bioreactor harvests or media drums too large for passenger aircraft
Stability-study samples requiring uninterrupted CRT for weeks in motion
Airport-to-airport cross-dock when flight legs aren’t temperature-controlled
Valuable instruments or lab freezers that must ride upright and powered via inverter
Service highlights
Active refrigeration/heating with continuous telemetry—no dry-ice limitations
Dedicated vehicles from small vans to 53-ft reefers; tail-lift and pallet-jack equipped
GDP-qualified drivers trained in pharma & biotech handling protocols
Door sensors, shock & tilt logging plus redundant temperature probes
Customs coordination & Pre-Clearance (optional) for cross-border ground moves
24 / 7 Mercury squads providing route watch, weather re-routing, and live updates in the Mercury Portal
Keep your cargo in spec for every mile
Request a Temperature-Controlled Vehicle quote in the Mercury Portal or speak with our logistics specialists any time—night or day.
